Ariel's Melody
by Furor Scribendi
Summary: Ariel has been on land for nearly a year, but with the arrival of a stranger, both her and Eric's love are put to the test. Does love conquer all? NOTE: Author discussion follow every chapter
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Beyond the Sea"

The corvette was cutting through the water, buffeted about by the waves. It was a choppy day at sea and the sails billowed frantically. If one could have seen the main sail, there was a giant, stylized eye on it. Despite the girth of the ship, it was tossed about as if it were nothing.

The sails were stretched to their maximum, straining full against the power of the gusts. The masts groaned and the ropes creaked as the ship was pounded.

Behind the ship, near the horizon, a major storm was brewing. Dark, ominous clouds were consuming the sky, inky fingers reaching out to seize all in its path. The ship shuddered and pitched as the growing waves attacked it relentlessly.

On the bridge, Captain Severage was trying to pilot the ship, but she was fighting back. An old salt of the sea, he had a full, gray beard, now flecked with spray. He was a portly type, even with all his years on the briny.

As he wrestled with the wheel, another man came up to him, also pitched around by the waves. The Great Mephisto, magician extraordinaire, was having a difficult time with the footing.

Between the rocking ship and the wet deck, balance was a challenge. His long topcoat nearly covered his feet. Slender and tall, he sported a pencil-thin mustache, and black hair slicked down by the unceasing water. The collar of the topcoat was turned up as protection, but was flapping blithely in the wind.

Mephisto managed to get to the captain, whose concentration was on the ship.

"Things are getting rough. You had best be below," commented the captain.

The ship was hit with an oblique wave and Mephisto was sent sliding across the slick deck. To stop himself, he grabbed onto the rope attached to the clapper of the ship's bell. The bell clanged loudly, far too close to his ear. Mephisto was momentarily dazed.

As he staggered to his feet, he was hurled towards the side railing on the bridge, sliding on a thin sheet of water. As he got there, a giant wave sent up a fountain of water.

Mephisto came face to face with a fish that was caught in the wave. They both held for a moment, and then screamed in terror.

Mephisto was fed up. "I have just had it!" He stormed over to the Captain, using the slippery deck and tilting ship to get there quickly. As he harangued the captain, he squeezed water out of his hair.

"You said the waters were calm this time of year. Well, if this is calm, I'd just love to see what a hurricane looks like!"

Mephisto burrowed right into the Captain's face, who remained unmoved. A drop of water hung off of Mephisto's nose, which was flicked away. The Captain jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

"You'll get your wish soon enough."

Mephisto headed to the aft portion of the bridge to see the storm. It was now a raging monster, gaining with every passing moment. Mephisto could make out the boiling sea in its shadows. He returned to the Captain.

"You were hired for your sailing knowledge, but I could pilot this barge better than you can!"

The captain was stoic as another crashing wave hit the ship, drenching Mephisto. Looking dour, he didn't even try to dry off. Why bother?, he thought.

"At the rate that storm is gaining, we'll never make it to Boldoni."

Mephisto tried to dry his hands, but they only got wetter. "I suppose you have a plan?"

Before Mephisto could react, the Captain grabbed him and planted him in front of the wheel.

"Steer the ship. I'll look." Mephisto was horrified as the wheel slammed him about. He wrestled with it, but was easily pushed about.

The Captain pulled out a telescope and scanned the far horizon.

"Blast this weather. Makes it hard to see if…"

The Captain stopped as he focused the telescope. He was gazing with intensity. Mephisto looked on with interest, as he walked away from the wheel.

"Well?" asked Mephisto, awaiting an answer. Meanwhile, the wheel spun maniacally, pitching the ship about. The Captain turned and handed Mephisto the telescope.

"See for yourself."

The Captain returned to the wheel, which was rotating with great speed. The Captain put out his hands to catch it. He grabbed the wheel precisely and it stopped dead. The ship was righted as the Captain made some adjustments.

Mephisto put the glass up to his eye, trying to focus it.

"I know there's a trick to make this work. I think I see something but, I can't focus this blasted thing!"

As Mephisto tried to work the telescope, another wave crashed into the ship. A finger of water smacked the end of the telescope, collapsing it into Mephisto's face.

Mephisto could now see through the telescope. It was a crisp and clear picture of Eric's castle, still bathed in sunshine, although the weather was turning foul there as well.

The captain called over. "That should fit your needs. Any port in a storm, eh?"

Mephisto removed the telescope with a noisy pop and handed it back to the Captain. Primping and preening, trying for some degree of dignity, Mephisto got ready to leave.

"Yes. Fine. Good."

As Mephisto headed down, the Captain started barking out orders to the crew, who scrambled about the deck. Mephisto adroitly avoided them as he made his way below.

The sails were pulled in and rolled up to allow for entry into the port. All Mephisto could hear was the squishing in his shoes. It would be a relief to get on land.

"I don't really care where we go, just somewhere that's dry."

Just then, a massive wave crashed into the ship, sending a cataract of water across the deck. Some of the sailors were caught in it and slammed into the railing on the other side of the ship.

As the wave receded, Mephisto was positively drenched from head to toe. There was not a single dry spot on him. Kelp fronds hung about him like a scarf and fishes flopped about at his feet. He said nothing, as his expression was very sour. He went below.

Suddenly, a clatter was heard as Mephisto tumbled down the stairs. A voice called from inside the ship. "You had best be careful. Those steps are really slippery."

END NOTES 

This was not the original point of attack for the story. Chapter two was the first, but I discovered early on that Mephisto did not make his first appearance until about 40 minutes into the script (remember that this is a novelization of that script).

There is an even earlier opening, but that was for script only, when I was forced to turn the entire movie into a flashback to keep within the confines of the timeline.

I have to establish him here and now, so when he makes his real appearance, and we see the troupe, it's not a complete surprise. The same thing happened in the original movie, with ursula getting established, then making her full appearance.

This story represents eight years of artistic and creative efforts, 13 years of writing about Ariel and a near 20-year obsession with the Little mermaid.

And it all began with a news blurb.

Back in 1994, my local paper had a throw-away article in the entertainment protion. It said that the original directors of "The Little Mermaid", John Musker and Ron Clements, had been removed from the sequel project, their script was rejected and Disney was going to start all over with a new director.

I felt that with the removal of the originators, they needed someone who understood Ariel well. With all the books, magazines, comics and TV show episodes I had seen over the last five years, I felt I was that caliber of person.

But I needed a script. (More to follow.)


	2. Chapter 2, Storm Warnings

**CHAPTER 2**

"Storm Warnings"

On the surface, the birds were heading inland. They instinctively knew it was going to be a vicious storm and did not wish to be caught in its fury.

Sea life was leaping out of the water as the waves were heading towards the beach. Normally calm, they were starting to grow in height and strength.

Eric's castle was still in sunlight, but it was slowly swallowed up by the storm clouds.

Beneath the waves, Flounder and Sebastian headed towards the beach. Sebastian clamped onto Flounder tail as they both headed on.

"It seems to be getting choppy," said a nervous Flounder.

"You worry too much, mon. I remember a big storm offa Jamaica. Now that was a storm, It blew for days and days and..."

Before Sebastian could finish, they were both scooped up by a huge wave. They both watched in terror as they rose high out of the water, the wave bearing down on Mermaid Rock.

"OK, dis one could be worse," admitted Sebastian.

At Mermaid Rock, the wave crashed against it. The spray ejected Flounder and Sebastian. Propelled high into the air, they could see the beach completely.

"Hey, I can really see the castle and..Aaaaaaaaaaah!" Flounder realized where he was and they both were splashed back under.

Flounder regained his bearings and began to hunt for Sebastian. He found him buried headfirst into the ocean floor.

Horrified, Flounder swam over and grabbed hold of Sebastian's legs to pull him free. Coming out with a pop, Sebastian shook his head to knock the mud from his ears.

"I tell you, mon, dis is gettin' to be a real chore," commented Sebastian as he got the last of the mud out from him.

"But the King is counting on us," said Flounder.

"I know. I just wish he'd count on someone else."

Sebastian clamped on to Flounder's back fin and they continued to the beach.

On the beach, the storm clouds were gathering and the ocean was frothing up. There was still some sunlight, but it was rapidly retreating. There was barely enough light; however, it was getting darker and darker by the moment. Whitecaps crashed angrily on the shore.

Someone was walking on the beach. Whoever they were, they were bundled up against the howling wind. Wearing a hooded cape, it was held tightly against them, to keep the wind from tearing it off and sending it flying.

Every so often, they would look out towards the sea, as it got more and more wild. After one more look out, Sebastian and Flounder broke the surface. The hood immediately came off as Ariel greeted them.

She stuck her arms out through the slits and waved at her friends. Ariel headed to the water's edge to meet them."Flounder! Sebastian!"

"Ariel! Ariel!" Flounder did a flip and Sebastian broke the surface.

Ariel got down on all fours as they came up to her.

"Awwww! You know you don't have to do this," she said.

"But we want to," said Flounder.

"And I'm glad you did." Ariel smiled back at them.

"Besides, your faddah told us to do so."

Ariel giggled. "I can just hear him now. 'Ariel needs constant supervision'."

"'And you're just the crab to do it.'". added Flounder.

They all had a good laugh. Ariel looked at her friends with longing and homesickness.

"I'm..I'm a big girl now," she admitted,

"But you'll always be his little mermaid," said Flounder.

"I know. He does this because he loves me and misses me."

"We all do, Ariel."

Ariel stood up. Just then, a huge wave slammed into Flounder and Sebastian, driving them into the beach. Ariel recoiled from the strength of the wave, and then hurried to get both of them back into the water.

"You'd better get back to Atlantica. It looks like bad weather," warned Ariel.

"We'll let your faddah know everyt'ing's all right," said Sebastian.

"Good bye, Ariel," said Flounder, as Sebastian clamped onto his tail for the return trip. "We'll be back soon."

Ariel waved good-bye as they disappeared under the surface. She continued waving long after they were gone. She slowly put her hood up and walked along the beach, lost in thought.

A vicious gust scooped off the hood. Her long red hair flailed about in the building storm. She started to put the hood up, and then decided not to; rather, she turned into the wind to get pummeled by the fury of the on-coming storm.

She was barefoot and waded into the edge of the waves. Her feet and cape hem got completely soaked. She gave a happy, contented smile. The more ferocious the storm became, the happier she was.

Sea spray coated her as the ocean became a constant roar. The breakers smashed onto the beach, demonstrating their might and strength.

Blithely walking along the shore, she showed no fear or apprehension at the churning intensity.

"How long has it been since I left Atlantica? Sometimes, it feels like forever. Other times, a mere moment. Have I spent that much time on the land?"

She began to make math numbers in the sand with her toe, and then scratched it out. She looked out at the ocean and let out a sigh.

"I do so miss Daddy and all of my sisters. I wish I could visit them more often. But this is the life I have chosen. My heart belongs to the sea, but now, I live upon the land."

Ariel held at the water's edge, as froth and foam cascaded about her. As she waded back in, she looked down at her feet for a moment, then out to the gathering storm.

Eric makes this decision all the more easier, she concluded. If I had married a merman, I still would have left Daddy.

Ariel turned her head upwards as rain began to fall. "Go ahead, rain all you want. I'm used to the water. Do your worst!" She smiled into the teeth of the sea with all its might.

Ariel watched as wave after wave crashed over Mermaid Rock. She smiled wistfully, but her reverie was interrupted.

"Ariel! Ariel!"

Ariel turned to see Eric running down the beach towards her. Ariel watched with love as Eric made the long run. He eventually caught up with Ariel, but could not speak, as he was panting.

"No one...saw you leave...and...and...and...we were...worried," he gasped out.

Ariel looked distant. "I just needed to take a walk. Get some air."

Eric came close. "We were concerned about you. Both of you."

Eric knelt down in front of Ariel and parted her cape to reveal her incredibly pregnant belly. Ariel, almost beatific in her radiance, smiled as Eric gingerly put his head to her tummy. He smiled with pride as he listened. Suddenly, his head made a shudder. Eric grinned even wider.

"He kicked me. My son kicked me!"

Eric jumped up and began to dance a jig around Ariel, singing, "He kicked me" over and over. Ariel laughed as she watched him circle about her. Eric stopped and held Ariel close and very passionately.

"I love you so very much," said Eric.

"And I love you, too," responded Ariel.

They started to kiss, but an immense gust kicked up and blew them apart. Eric caught Ariel, who was nearly pushed down onto the beach. They both looked out to sea.

"We'd better get back inside. It's going to be a howling storm," offered Eric.

As he cradled Ariel protectively, they made their way back to the castle. Eric put Ariel's hood on her. As they left for the protection of the castle, far on the horizon, was the shadow of Mephisto's ship, heading into port.

End Notes

When I wrote this tale, Disney had never had an obviously pregnant woman, much less as the lead character, in their animation. I mean Darling in 'Lady and the Tramp' was pregnant, but you never saw her as such (and she wasn't a real lead).

You did eventually have Pasha's wife in "The Emperor's New Groove", so at least they were acknowledging things, but this was to be the first time a lead would be so gravid. And Ariel is still the only female human lead to have kids. (Keep in mind, with the original time frame I had planned out, they were to get this script by 1996 or so. Ho, ho, ho!)

For those with sharp eyes, you can see where I turned Ariel's song into dialogue. That was a bit of a workout, as what may work in singing gets to be a touch unwieldy in dialogue, but I think I pulled it off.

You can also see the original opening for the film, as I wanted action to go underneath the credits. As a writer, I feel it is important to exert as much control over the manuscript or screenplay as one can, considering how it may be edited away from you. But, when I had to change the opening, it got all pushed back. And then, when I had to change it ALL again, it got altered even more.

The new opening had a man posting flyers for an upcoming event and was chased by the local cop. When the flyers ended up getting scattered by the wind, THAT was the new opening credits.

All these changes forced me to write a better script. Too bad no one from Disney was interested. Unless you have an established agent or have done work for them in the past, they will not touch an unsolicited script.

And that story of my failed attempt to get this to them can wait for another time. It's a good story, but really, really long.


	3. Chapter 3, Ready or Not

**CHAPTER 3**

"Ready or Not"

The French doors banged open, propelled by the savage winds. Eric struggled to close and lock it against the vicious gusts. It took some effort, but he was able to force the double doors closed and securely latched the door lock, as well as throwing the jamb bolts. Nothing was going to pop those doors open again.

Just as Eric turned away, Scuttle, Ariel's seagull friend, was slammed into the window. He made a face as his bill was mashed against the pane. Holding for a moment, Scuttle quickly slid away and fell from sight. Eric turned to see nothing. "I thought I heard something," he muttered, as he peered into the inky depths. Shrugging, he pulled the drapes closed. It's the wind, he thought.

Eric turned back to face everyone who was in the nursery. It was a cavernous room, filled with stacks and miles of shelving and cabinets. Ariel was sitting on a fainting lounge, feet up, swathed in pillows. A roaring fire cast the room in a warm glow.

Also in the room were Carlotta, who was tending to Ariel, and Grimsby, who was talking to four other people off to one side. On a table in front of Ariel were yards of fabric, wallpaper, paint swatches and other plans. Max, Eric's dog, loped about, wanting someone to pet his furry head. He slobbered and drooled everywhere.

After Grimsby nattered on to the four men, he turned his attention to a cloth-covered something, situated in the middle of the room. It was immense and took up a great deal of space, which was a task, since the room was so capacious.

Ariel had stared at the item with great curiosity, but both Grimsby and Carlotta had shooed her away from it. "Tut, tut," chided Carlotta. "It's a surprise."

With a great flourish, Grimsby approached the drapery. "This is the bassinet." Grimsby pulled the sheet off. It was immense, looking less like a cradle and more like a ship. Ariel was feeling out of sorts. This was nice, very nice, but it was a bit more than she wanted.

"Made by one of the finest companies in Europe. Real French oak." Grimsby rapped on the side of it to show the solid construction.

"I..I..don't know what to say. It's so overwhelming. The gesture, I mean." Ariel quickly corrected herself. She did not wish to offend anyone.

Eric walked over and looked at the cradle, then showed it to Max. "I think it's really great. How about you, boy?" said Eric as he turned to Max. Max began sniffing the legs deviously. Eric then turned to Grimsby. "This will be fine, Grim."

Ariel sighed. She was feeling left out. She began to examine the riotous wallpaper strips. One caught her attention, a beautiful sea-green background with a subtle pattern that looked like a fish. Ariel picked it up and saw it shimmering in the firelight.

As she gazed into it, Ariel recalled images of her sisters and her life beneath the sea. She smiled blissfully, recalling her trip to Dolphin Cove, a vacation at the Winterland Resort, even her time in Valhalla. Her half-lidded eyes misted over. Then she heard Eric speak.

"It's settled. I want this one."

Ariel was shaken back to reality as Eric made the final decision on the wallpaper, a boldly masculine gold-and-maroon design with a lighter red-flocked fleur-de-lys pattern.

Before Ariel could speak, the sample was whisked away by Grimsby. He took it to the four people off to one side, who were the wallpaperers. They began their work immediately, by laying down drop cloths and setting up a large table to lay the strips. Ariel tried to get up, but was gently restrained by Carlotta.

"Now, now, your Highness, you shouldn't jump about. You need to save your strength.

"But all these plans and activities are being made without me," complained Ariel, but Carlotta did not hear her; she moved away to restrain Max. Ariel watched as Eric and Grimsby left the room, with Max being dragged by Carlotta. As Ariel tried to get up, she was covered with a drop cloth and left behind.

Eric and Grimsby appeared outside the room to hordes of servants, eager to do anything.

"What can we do?" asked the first servant.

"How can we help?" said the second servant.

"Now, I know that the last time we had a child in the palace, it was our dear, sweet Eric."

"This hasn't happened in many years," replied a third servant.

"Please, do not worry yourself," Grimsby said in his calming tones. "We will all be able to do our part to welcome the new child here."

Back in the nursery, Ariel managed to disentangle herself from the drop cloth. The workmen were shocked that they covered her. She would say something to them, later, but she scampered after Eric, trailing far behind him.

"It's a most joyous time in the castle, but we must have everything ready and everything in its place."

Despite the late hour, the castle was a hive of activity, being cleaned and polished up with a joyful franticness that bordered on zealotry.

Ariel watched as one servant cleaned up and, moments later, another servant cleaned it up again. The palace was coming alive with lively colors, brightening up the dull walls.

Ariel pursued doggedly, dodging craftsmen and servants who pranced and wheeled about. Going high, going low, she couldn't get a clear pathway to Eric and Grimsby, who were seemingly oblivious to the action about them and to Ariel's plight.

It was now the time to make her move, but every time she made a little progress, she was quickly placed into another seat with the admonishment that she had to save her strength. She was placed on a dining room table, on a stool, one side of a love seat.

She was even seated on a tea trolley as it made its way across the room. It took her some time to get where she needed to be, but when she got there, Eric had moved on.

Ariel could see the windows polished until they fairly shined, even with the storm outside. She thought she saw Eric, but he was a tiny dot amid a forest of servants"Tempus fugit, people. Time and tide wait for no one," directed Grimsby, as he passed easily among the people.

"All these decisions, hundreds have to be made," commented Eric as he dished out his wishes with great aplomb.

Much to Ariel's horror, she was not getting her say. She reached out to Eric to grab him, but was swirled away by another phalanx of well-meaning helpers.

The crowds were too much for Ariel to breech, so she gave up trying to get to Eric for the time being. "He will eventually get back in my direction. I'll wait for him and then grab him."

Ariel sat at a table just as Chef Louis came up to her. "I would like to talk to Eric about this, but I cannot get to him."

"I know the feeling," commiserated Ariel.

"Allow me, then, to show you my ideas for the baby's dining pleasure. This child will get to enjoy the finest food. A marvelous bill of fare."

Ariel looked at the menu and was appalled to see such adult meals like escargot, veal and goose liver. "Are you sure about this? You want to serve this to a baby?"

Louis looked at the list. "Zut alors, you are right!" Ariel gave a sigh of relief. "How could I have overlooked that? There's no Coq au Vin!" Before Ariel could say a word, Louis whisked himself away and she was left alone in a room filled with people.

Every time Ariel tried to eat something, it was taken from her as not being good for her. A basket of fruit on the table got pulled away and a piece of bread was left in its place. Before she could get to the bread, it, too, was removed and a glass of water sat in its place.

She had little time to react, as the water departed and a hunk of cheese bounced into view. Ariel viewed that with alarm, owing to the way it bounced. That, too, got removed, replaced with the bowl of fruit she saw at the beginning.

Ariel was getting angry. She quickly snatched an orange, but it was taken from her and she was given a potato. Her frustration was building as was the frenzy.

Carlotta was putting forth her needs. "What about diapers? What about diapers? Are we all set when I ask 'What about diapers?'."

Behind her, an army of servants with piles and piles of fluffy white diapers were at the ready. Smiling with relief Carlotta signaled them to follow her. Ariel reached out to Carlotta, but she mistook it for a greeting and waved, passing Ariel by.

Too many do-gooders were over-attending Ariel. "I'm feeling trapped," she panicked.

Grimsby and Eric were directing traffic as acres of flowers appeared out of nowhere and were plunked down anywhere. Ariel found herself in a jungle, as she tried to stem the tide of rising hysteria.

Grimsby and Eric were in charge.

"Get it all ready."

"Make it all nice."

"Be sure it's all pretty."

"No detail will be overlooked."

"Nothing is to be left to chance."

Ariel extracted herself from the foliage and was nearly bundled up by the bunting people, as festoons of ribbon bedecked the walls and halls. Ariel found she was treated more like a piece of furniture, moved about and out of the way.

The colors, swirling about madly, were getting to the point of garishness in their brightness. Ariel was being steered farther and farther away from the center of action.

Ariel found herself plunked in a seat, near an easel. The Court Painter was trying to capture the flavor of the event. He saw Ariel before him and started to put her in the painting. In a few brush strokes, he captured her anguish and spiritual exhaustion.

Ariel steeled herself. "I will accomplish this task,"

she promised herself, and got up again.

For Eric and Grimsby, samples were showcased of everything, whether or not it was even practical. A virtual parade of items passed in review, Eric and Grimsby giving approval or denial. There were very few denials.

"He'll only be bathed in the softest soaps," reminded Eric.

"And the fluffiest towels to cuddle and dry him," added Grimsby.

"Do we have enough?" asked Eric.

"And is it all here?" responded Eric.

Soon, the two questions were asked again and again of everyone, said faster and faster. Ariel fought against the tide of people, as she pushed her way through the crowd. She finally reached her limit.

"STOP!"

Everything froze dead. All eyes were riveted on Ariel, angry and hurt, panting with frustration. Eric stepped forward to get Ariel, genuinely unaware of any problem.

"Is there something wrong?" 

Ariel's eyes widened in rage. All the servants took several steps back, leaving Eric alone to face Ariel's wrath in an arena.

She detonated. "Wrong? Wrong? How could anything be wrong? You're having a child and the whole kingdom is celebrating.

"We can't wait for this child to get here. This child will have everything. This child will be perfect. This child is going to be the best. This child this. That child that.

"Well..what about me, the mother?! Remember me, the other half of this? What do I get to do? Aren't I part of this? Am I part of it?

"I can't choose my child's wallpaper, or crib or even the name. I assume that's been taken care of as well!"

Ariel leaned into Eric, snarling fury and hurt. Eric gulped. In the crowd, a servant with a puffy hat looked about carefully. He gingerly closed a book and put away his quill, slowly tucking it into the hat so as not to draw attention, lest Ariel's rage descend upon him.

Another servant found a chair for Ariel and slowly pushed it towards her. It scraped horridly across the floor, like fingernails on a blackboard. The noise caused everyone to wince and recoil in horrific pain. Only Ariel was unmoved by the din.

"I will be involved in this! In all of it!"

Ariel furiously kicked over the chair and stamped her foot hard. The sound echoed throughout the silent castle.

"I am tired of being told what to eat and when to rest and what to do! I will make my own..."

Ariel suddenly went silent as her face contorted with a look of total confusion and uncertainty. She was experiencing something completely alien. Her whole body shuddered.

No one was certain what to do. Outside, the storm howled and the thunder cracked. Ariel slowly put her hand on her stomach and her mouth widened.

Very quietly, she said, "Ow."

Ariel was very scared and looked pleadingly towards Eric. Eric leapt into action, getting to Ariel and placing his hand on hers.

"Get the doctor! NOW!"

End Notes

This chapter has my huge musical number, akin to "Be Our Guest" or "Under the Sea". Yes, I know that, in the script, it comes rather early in the film. I did try to delay it, but I ended up with the same conclusion: this was the only place to put it.

At least, when I put in the new opening, it gave me an additional five minutes, but this shows up at about the 20-minute mark, still a bit early for a number of this caliber.

Oh, the court painter. One of my many Ariel Dreams was if Disney decided to do this script, they could put me in, so I created the role/character of the Court Painter. I say nothing, but I am there. And for an Arielholic, that would be just heaven.

While in script form, I posted to numerous on-line sites, like and a few contest locations.

Although generally accepted as a good script, the complaints fell into three broad categories.

The second largest complaint revolved around the music.

I have never billed myself as a tunesmith. Writing music is far more difficult than writing words. I am sure any musician will say it's the opposite, but that's all perspective.

Lyrics are easy, as it's just poetry. Any fool can write poetry, including myself. But the direction behind the music was simple: can these thoughts be expressed better in song or could I get away with dialogue?

The songs in and of themselves were rather easy, although my overriding concern was whether they were too bland and unimaginative. When you use "Little Mermaid" as a touchstone, that is a high level of achievement to attain.

I also wanted to avoid the tepid nature of the tunes in Little Mermaid 2.

I listened a great deal to "The Music Behind the Magic", which gave me a flavor of what Howard Ashman and Alan Menkin were trying to accomplish in their musicianship.

I may not understand how to blend in the music to represent other styles, but I could garner that intent that was so critical for me.

It seemed far easier to turn words into lyrics than taking lyrics and turning it back into normal dialogue. I had to lose a lot in the translation, but not enough that I lost the full flavor of things. You just do wish to lose a good action or some pungent conversation.


	4. Chapter 4,Comes a Kingdom

**CHAPTER 4**

"Comes a Kingdom"

The great cathedral window, stretching from floor to ceiling, shuddered as the storm reached its zenith. The lightening made magnificent flashes as the thunder boomed its reply. The pelting rain was a constant din; there was no escape from the noise.

In the hallway, just outside the bedroom, Grimsby sat on a chair, watching, while Eric paced frantically. The flashes of lightening occasionally lit the area in a ghostly aura. 

Off to one side, a trolley sat alone, the food upon it uneaten. From around the corner of the hall, several servants craned their necks to see what was going on, but not venturing out too far. Grimbsy shooed them away, making sure Eric did not see them.

The thunder boomed again. The wind howled harder and the rain slammed against the window. The room, however, was sedate, with only a couple of hall candle sconces to light it.

Eric paced to one end of the hall, then the other. He stopped abruptly and launched towards the bedroom door.

"I should be in there with her," he said, as he almost reached the door.

He was restrained by Grimsby, who spoke in reassuring tones, placing a friendly arm about his shoulders.

"If the doctor needs you, he knows where to find you."

Eric stared at the massive wooden doors. "I want to go in so much." He strained his ears, trying to pick up the slightest sound.

Grimsby sensed his feelings of loss and confusion and tried to counsel him.

"Things like this have been going on since..well, forever. The doctor knows what to do."

"But this is the first time for me and for Ariel. I want to do what's best," responded Eric.

"And what's best is to let those who know what to do take care of things."

Grimsby led Eric from the door. Eric walked to the edge of the hall to stand by the window. Staring into the storm, Eric felt very small, lost within his thoughts. Grimsby tried to occupy Eric's mind.

"As the Royal Consort to the child, we need to address some issues."

Raising his hand, Eric had him hold. "That can wait. A few days won't matter for my son."

Eric took a pregnant pause, mulling over what he had said. "My son. My son."

Eric began to experiment with the way he said that. "My SON. MY son. MY SON." He turned to Grimsby. "I'm going to have a son."

Grimsby smiled and nodded appreciatively. 

Eric continued. "You know, you always think about this day, but when it happens...I suppose every father goes through this. To have a son who will carry on the family name.

"Some day, my son will be the ruler of all he surveys. He will be a bright shining beacon of courage and hope.

"I will show him the right path on how to be a person, a monarch, a man. To help him learn about compassion and strength and heart. 

"My son, to whom I can teach the proper approach that a prince should take, and the proper direction to turn. Ruling is a tricky matter and he must know how to have care and concern for those he would lead and govern.

"There are people out there would preach the quick and easy path, which does not work. He needs to know how to see through those people and avoid fools.

"Although he is of nobility and filled with the pride that comes with it, he will understand fully his place in the world and to never be haughty or officious.

"He will be the kind of person who will project dignity and respect. I will show my son all of this and when he becomes king one day, he will always remember that once he was...my son.

"This is wonderful, this is scary, but I am ready for it, Grimsby. I can handle it." 

Just then, a magnificent flash of lightening was seen, as a tremendous crash of thunder shook the castle and the windows. Eric looked about. "That was a strong one. I hope nothing is broken." 

The wooden doors opened and the doctor came out. He was tired from the exertion. As he drifted the door closed, Eric accosted him.

"How are Ariel and my son? When can I see them? What's going on it there?" Eric nattered on until the doctor put up his hand to quiet Eric.

"Shhh. They are both doing fine. However, she needs her rest. You can have a few minutes with them, but speak in low tones. However..."

Before the doctor could finish, Eric scampered into the room. Grimsby began to follow, but was stopped by the doctor. They had a terse conversation.

Eric moved slowly in the room. Ariel was in bed, bedraggled from giving birth. Despite her exhaustion, she still looks radiant, thought Eric as he neared. 

The room was lit with many candles and was far warmer and friendlier than the hallway. Ariel offered a lack-of-energy smile to Eric. 

Cradling a bundle, Ariel looked up to let Eric see the face of their child, swaddled fully. Eric came over to her and gingerly sat on the side of the bed, eyes focused on the child. 

Nearby, Carlotta was folding up some towels rapidly and looked concerned. She forced a smile and kept her hands busy. She was the only action in the sedate room.

"How..how are you?" ventured Eric. He held one of her hands and brushed some wisps of hair from her face.

"I'm feeling fine," she said calmly. "Just tired."

Eric felt better, as a great sense of relief washed through him. Ariel firmly held the bundle and unfolded the top. Eric was bursting with anticipation, but he kept his movements small and slow.

"Here is our child." 

Eric stared into the bundle. A shock of black hair adorned the head of the now-sleeping baby.

Eric put out his hands. "My son."

"Our daughter," corrected Ariel.

Eric froze for a moment. Carlotta reacted to the statement. Eric wanted a son; he REALLY wanted a son. The whole kingdom knew he wanted a son. How will he react? stewed Carlotta. 

Eric shrugged and smiled. "It's OK to have a daughter, too. It really wasn't all that important to have a son right away." Eric smiled at Ariel and started to play with the daughter.

Eric stuck out his finger and the baby grabbed it with her tiny hand. "My daughter is just so small and delicate."

"Our daughter Melody."

"Our daughter...Melody."

Ariel smiled, as Eric graciously accepted the name and their child. He looked at Ariel and then at Melody.

"My daughter Melody, with her ten little fingers…

Eric starts to count out the minute fingers, which are overwhelmed by Eric's massive finger.

Eric removed Melody from Ariel. "And her ten little toes." Eric started to unwrap the bunting. Ariel tried to react, but could not move fast enough.

"Eric, wait! There's something you need to know before...

Too late, Eric unwrapped Melody. Eyes agog, Eric was confronted with an orange fin flapping up and down. Pole-axed, Eric followed every movement of the fin.

"My daughter...Melody," he squeaked out. In shock, he got up to go, but turned to carefully hand Melody back to Ariel. Eric spun about and headed towards Carlotta, making a goofy grin. "My daughter Melody...the mermaid! I think I need some air."

As he started to leave, he pitched forward and passed out, crashing to the floor. Grimsby rushed to Eric, the doctor following. Ariel and Carlotta stared at each other. Carlotta, uncertain what to do, wrung her hands over and over. 

"That went well."

End Notes

You notice that in the original "Little Mermaid", Eric didn't have a song. I wanted to correct that oversight with his little ditty here. In fact, he gets a second song, but that comes a bit later.

Novelization is a rather tough bit of writing, as it is a kind of adaptation, but when you do it for real (taking a movie that everyone has seen and put it into book form) the expectations are much higher.

I have a slight luxury as few people have really seen the original script of mine and even fewer have seen the final form of it.

As I mentioned earlier, it is converting the lyrics to language that is hard, as no one speaks in rhyme or iambic pentameter, so it has to get converted properly, or as best as one can do this.

My concern is that a lot of the emotionality is lost in the conversion, especially when you have some excellent music to back up those words.

The third largest pool of complaints about the script regarded the timeline. Since I had always envisioned this as a stand-alone piece, the release of LM2 created consternation. I never wanted to put in a prologue and epilogue to frame it as a flashback, but, with the incessant complaints, I acceded to the demands, but in script form only.

I spent about a year transcribing this into a book. It was a laborious process, as the calligraphy was nothing compared to the artwork I did as well (I draw like it was a painful obligation).

The book was the original flavor of what I wanted, but only given the title of "Ariel's Melody".

The original subtitle was "A Mother's Love", but that was so sappy. It also came before the release of LM2.


	5. Chapter 5, Sinking In

**CHAPTER 5**

"Sinking In"

It was a blazingly magnificent day. The storm had passed and everything looked marvelous.The ocean was a luxurious blue, deep and solid, as ships plied their trade across it. The cerulean sky was cloudless and one could just see to the next island. The terns wheeled about, gracefully soaring on the thermals in large, banking arcs.

Another bird rocketed into view. Scuttle seemed to be having a hard time maintaining his balance, as he flew so badly. His poor navigation chased the other birds away with his looping and dipping. He came closer and closer to the towers of the castle, unconcerned with his actions.

After a dramatic loop, he crashed into a window of the castle. "I have got to do something about that," he admitted, before he slid down, squeaking against the window.

The other side of the window Scuttle slammed into was Eric and Ariel's room. In bed, Eric turned fitfully, and then bolted awake, gasping and sweating. Eric saw he was in his own bed. He checked himself to make certain this was not a dream. Feeling assured, he sighed in relief. The cord by his bed was pulled and he arose to get dressed.

He crossed over to the balcony window and opened the double doors. One side squashed Scuttle, whom Eric did not notice. Moments later, Grimsby arrived and Eric reentered the room. Scuttle righted himself and began to listen in.

"Yes, your majesty," intoned Grimsby.

Eric went over to the wardrobe and started to dress for the day, putting on a shirt.

"I guess Ariel got up early. That's good, because I cannot begin to tell you the horrible dream that I had last night."

Grimsby looked at Eric with apprehension. What could have been worse than..what was this dream from last night? Eric was working with one sock on and the other in his hand.

"Well, we were all getting ready for the baby, preparing the castle, but Ariel felt left out. I got her really, really mad at me and did she let me have it. The entire castle staff was watching on as well.

"Then, she had the baby, but it wasn't a baby baby, but a mermaid baby."

As Eric related the tale, Grimsby looked more and more dour. Eric continued while Grimsby shook his head 'no' slowly.

"Can you imagine anything so ridiculous in all ..your..life...Grim?" Eric spoke slower and higher until the last word was not much more that a squeak. Eric, dejected, flopped into a chair.

"It's all true?" ventured Eric.

Grimsby nodded agreement. "Every single word of it." Grimsby watched as Eric collapsed fully into the chair, crestfallen and emotionally bereft.

"I have a daughter who's a mermaid."

"Eric, your wife is a mermaid."

Eric quickly corrected Grimsby. "WAS a mermaid. WAS. The operative word here is WAS."

"I realize this is a shock, but we must remain true to the facts. You may take the mermaid out of the water, but you can't the water from the mermaid. She is what she is."

Grimsby looked about. That statement did not come out right. While he was trying to rephrase it, Carlotta came in, bringing fresh clothes.

Scuttle, trying to take advantage of this diversion, snuck into the room to get an earful of this news.

"And what a wonderful day it is, Master Eric." Carlotta headed over to the window to take in the breeze, done more for Eric's benefit. She gulped down huge amounts of air, held it for a moment and let it out.

At the door, Scuttle went under Carlotta's dress to hear everything, but found himself enmeshed between her petticoat layers. When Carlotta moved, Scuttle was dragged about.

"How is the brand-new father?"

Eric, still in the chair, looked down and away from Carlotta. Carlotta would not stand for any of this.

"Hmmph!" grumped Carlotta. "You should be happy. You have a wonderful baby daughter."

Eric nervously picked at his hands, cleaning under his nails again and again. He felt very dejected.

"I have a..a fish," he blurted out.

Carlotta was livid. "You have a lovely daughter, Melody! I have known you since you were born. I've seen hundreds of princesses, tsarinas, duchesses, earlesses and all other kinds of royalty.

"Ariel was, and is, the best you ever saw. And now, when she needs you the most, you just..just..just do nothing!" During Carlotta's lambasting of Eric, Scuttle managed to raise the hem of the dress to get more of the details.

"This is just too incredible to believe," Scuttle gasped.

Carlotta wheeled about to get to Eric and Scuttle was sent skittering across the floor and out to the balcony. He smacked into the railing, getting wedged between two of the pilasters. As he struggled to free himself, he could still hear the conversation.

Carlotta grasped Eric's arm to pull him out of the chair, but he was inert. Grimsby was aghast that Carlotta would even think to do such an action to royalty.

Carlotta was fuming as she went to the back of the chair, grasping the bottom of it. "Get up NOW!" She hoisted it up and tumbled Eric to the floor. Both he and Grimsby stared back at her in shock as Carlotta fairly flung the chair to one side. She pointed towards the door.

"You get out there right now to see your wife and child! They are waiting in the nursery! NOW!"

Eric scrambled to his feet as Carlotta went over to the wardrobe to fling clothes out at him. Grimsby fumed as the clothes flew everywhere.

"Really, Carlotta, I don't think that this kind of behavior is appropriate."

Grimsby got a faceful of trousers. He pulled it off to confront a steaming mad Carlotta, who was still flinging clothes.

"And which kind of behavior IS appropriate? Is my rudeness any different than Eric's rudeness? Fathers are not to act this way at all!"

Scuttle, freed from the banister, looked around the edge on the door as Eric did his best to put himself together. Even before he was fully dressed, Carlotta was pushing him out the door and down the hallway

"I gotta find the guys." Scuttle soared off the balcony. Flying ungainly, he scanned the waters and saw two recognizable figures. He dive-bombed Flounder and Sebastian.

Flounder and Sebastian were waiting for Ariel, but just sat.

"How much longer is dis t'ing gonna take? I'm working on a symphony for the King's Jubilee," groused Sebastian.

Flounder became intent. "Do you hear something?"

Sebastian craned his neck to hear better, and then saw a shadow growing larger around him. He looked up to see Scuttle crashing down. Sebastian screamed in terror and tried to escape.

Flounder dove under the surface. Sebastian managed to elude Scuttle, just as he piled into the water. The resulting wave landed Sebastian on the beach. He was furious as Flounder resurfaced.

Scuttle was in a pile, as sand and mud hung off his beak. Sebastian angrily scurried up to him.

"No doubt about it, you have got to do somet'ing about your flying!"

Scuttle righted himself and sneezed out some sand. "I'm working on that. Flying is a rather difficult thing and it takes..wait. What was I going to say? I knew it just before I got here."

As Scuttle fumbled about, Sebastian was not impressed. The crusty crab placed his head in his claw as Scuttle strained to organize his thoughts. Flounder hung at the ready.

"OK. I was flying and..of course I was flying and..it has something to do with someone and..

Flounder tried to help. "Is it about Ariel?"

Scuttles face brightened. It all fell into place. "Yeah, that's it. Ariel.Ariel and her baby, Melody.

Both were stunned. Sebastian sputtered. "News this important you can't remember? You give birds a bad name!"

As Sebastian railed, Flounder did loops. "Yippie! Hooray! I'm an uncle!"

"So give the details. What! How! When? Who?" pushed Sebastian.

Scuttle freed himself from the muck and bent down to Sebastian. "And not only that.."

Scuttle whispered to Sebastian, whose expression went from anger to total incredulity to complete rejection of it. "This is you we're talking about, Scuttle"

Flounder felt left out. "What? What? Tell me! I'm her friend, too. What else?"

Sebastian shook his head in disbelief. "Are you sure on this?"

Scuttle felt full of himself. "I'll show you."

Before Sebastian could react, Scuttle took to the air, grabbing Sebastian. Scuttle dipped and weaved while Sebastian howled.

"Look out! Watch for that...! WAAAAAH! I don' wanna end up as a crab cake and AAAAAAAAAAGH!"

"Say, you wouldn't know where the nursery is, do you, Sebastian, old buddy?"

Sebastian was in abject fear. As Scuttle got close to a balcony, he put out his feet to land. Sebastian was thrown through the air and smacked against a window while Scuttle alighted perfectly on the railing.

Squashed against a window, Sebastian opened his eyes to see a tiny baby with an orange fin splashing about in a huge glass punch bowl, being watched over by Ariel. Sebastian smiled as he saw Ariel so happy, being with her daughter.

Sebastian did not even notice that he was sliding down the pane. Soon, he was sitting at the base of the windows, looking on. "I haven't seen her dis happy since her wedding day," he commented.

As he continued to watch, Eric entered very slowly. Ariel picked up Melody and, wrapping a towel about her, brought her to Eric. Sebastian could not hear their conversation clearly, just muffled talk. He placed his head against the window to pick up anything.

However, the actions revealed more. Eric was reticent to embrace Melody or Ariel. His hands trembled with uncertainty. Eric reached out twice but could not hold Melody. Ariel looked hurt and lost. Eric, unable to do anything, backed out of the room quickly. Ariel was heartbroken as she settled herself onto the bed, quite depressed. She held Melody tighter to her. Sebastian was sad.

He turned to Scuttle. "I've seen enough. Take me back, please."

Scuttle saluted Sebastian, completely oblivious to the events that occurred. "Aye aye, Captain."

Scuttle grabbed Sebastian. The ride down was more frightening than the ride up, but Sebastian was so lost in thought that he didn't realize that Scuttle was spiraling out of control until they slammed into the water. Both resurfaced.

"Scuttle, we're depending on you to keep us informed. We want to know every detail. What ever happens at any time, day or night, we want to know."

Scuttle was still in the water, gurgling away. "You can rely on me."

Sebastian put his best face and motioned for Flounder. No need for others to know about the unhappy parts, he thought.

Flounder came up, eyes agog. "Let's get back to the King and tell him the good news." Sebastian clamped onto Flounder's tail and they sail off.

"So, you can tell me. What was it all about? What was the big secret Scuttle told you?"

"I don't know, Flounder. You can be such a big mouth bass."

"Awwwww, you can tell me, really you can."

Sebastian whispered the secret into Flounder's ear. Flounder said nothing, barely reacting, then, as clear as a bell and just as loud.

"Ariel had a merbaby!?"

End Notes

The idea had always been that Ariel and her daughter were rejected by Eric. I originally called her Ariadne, keeping in line with the "A" naming of the daughters.

Eric was really keen on having a son and when that didn't occur, Eric, feeling resentful, turned his back on Ariel.

Ariel is in a jam. She can't go back to Daddy, as she fought so hard for this new life and it would be an emotionally crushing blow to admit she was so very wrong.

But she couldn't stay with a man who couldn't and didn't love her for all that she was. Desperate, Ariel takes Ariadne and leaves the castle. Eric, discovering the loss, delays his pursuit. On the one hand, she is royalty. But, on the other hand, she had not given him a son.

Needless to say, this idea was rejected. Even though there is enough historical precedent for this type of action, it would never fly in a Disney film of any caliber.

Eric turns into a loathsome monster. No, I had to come up with something a bit more marketable. I put it script to one side, until an idea came.

It sat for two years.

I was watching some special on the Discovery Channel about gene therapy. It told how you could alter a chromosomal structure to manifest change in later generation

They said it was like having a nose job. If you didn't change the basic information, that offspring would still get the same type of nose you had modified.

This got me thinking.

Triton, in making Ariel human, did nothing about the basic genetic structure, only the outward appearance. Technically, she still carried the DNA blueprint for mermaid offspring.

What if I went with this tack: Eric wants a son, but gets a daughter. He's disappointed, but there's always another chance to get his son. But when Ariadne is actually a mermaid, this is more than he can handle.

He doesn't reject them, but cannot find it within himself to accept them.

This is a critical, and distinctive, plot point.

Rejection means that they are discarded out of hand and there will never be reconciliation. An inability to accept put the confusion back on him. He was not prepared for a mermaid as a daughter and, blindsided by the events, is at a loss as to what to do.

This makes him less of a monster and more of a confused person.

The rest still remains. With Ariel snubbed, she runs away and falls in (now) with a traveling acting troupe. They accept her, but realizing what she is (royalty), decide to ransom her off to Eric. But will Eric bite?

Well, this script idea certainly bites.

I realized that they could be no delay in Eric's actions. Anything that even remotely looks like him not springing into action immediately meant that he was doing this out of a sense of obligation to his status as a ruler and not because of any love for Ariel or Ariadne.

This is the crux of the film. I have to be honest to his actions and his character; otherwise, he is a miserable human being.

Then what happens? Eric pursues to what end goal?

Reaching another log jam, I put the script to one side, hoping for ideas to come.

It sat another 18 months.


	6. Chapter 6 Word Gets Out

**CHAPTER 6**

"Word Gets Out"

The shining spires of Atlantica's Coral Castle glistened as the sun filtered through the azure waters. Flounder and Sebastian came into view. It had been a long, hard swim. Flounder was exhausted, but he knew the importance of getting the message to the King. They disappeared into the great folds of the castle.

King Triton was at his throne, working on some important papers. Two of his daughters, Aquata and Arista, were there, watching intently as Triton explained what he did as King.

"Someday, one of you will rule Atlantis and be Queen of the Merpeople. Aquata, since you are the oldest, that mantle will fall to you first. Now pay attention."

Triton began to shuffle through the scrolls of paper that littered his desk. He unfurled one, nodded, and then rolled it back up again.

Aquata jumped in. "Why aren't you signing that paper? It was something rather vital."

"You said it was important," added Arista.

"It is. It is. But I want to make sure there's enough money in the Royal Treasury to be able to do this right and.."

Sebastian interrupted their discussion. "Your majesty!"

All three looked up to see Flounder, exhausted and weary, with Sebastian hanging on for dear life. Flounder crashed to the floor in a heap. The two daughters went up to attend him as Sebastian sidled up to the King. Triton bore in on him.

"Well, what news from Ariel?"

Sebastian gazed into the intensity of Triton's eyes. I must keep my mouth shut, for a change, Sebastian thought. He cleared his throat. "Well, I have from she's, I mean her and her is a you..I mean you have an Ariel, who's you and..that is, I mean to say that the news I have is news and.."

Triton looked bored as Sebastian fumbled about. The two daughters giggled as they helped Flounder. They grabbed him playfully. Sebastian went on.

"It involves Ariel, to whom the news is about, which is the news I am bringing, which is about Ariel, which the news is about. Her."

Triton glowered at Sebastian. Suddenly, the two daughters squealed in glee as they swung Flounder about in joyful exhilaration.

Flounder was not liking this. Hellllllllllpppppppppp!"

he shrieked out. Triton turned to the still-bumbling Sebastian.

"May I assume by their reaction that I'm a grandfather?"

Sebastian looked on in total dismay, and then sheepishly grinned. "Oh, ho, ho, ho. Didn't I say that?"

The noise from the throne room had the rest of the daughters coming in. Once they heard the wonderful news, Flounder was bounced about like a giant yellow ball. He landed into Triton's arms.

"AAAAAAAAGH!" reacted Flounder in total terror. He peeled out, only to crash into Sebastian.

Triton arose from his throne, grasped his trident and spoke loudly. "Let a proclamation go out that on this day, we have a new Atlantican, my grandchild..my grandchild.."

Triton paused. He turned to Sebastian. "Sebastian!" Triton motioned Sebastian closer. Sebastian nervously approached Triton, who glowered at him. Sebastian spoke in a tiny squeak.

"Yes? AHEM! Yes, your majesty?"

"It seems I never got a name. I assume my grandchild has a name."

Sebastian laughed nervously. "Oh, ho, ho, ho. She has a name."

"She. Good. Now we're getting somewhere. And what is the name of my granddaughter!" Triton burrowed in on Sebastian, who tried to back up, but had no place to go to.

"Melody. Her name is Melody."

Triton continued his royal edict. "Let it go out to all parts of the Kingdom to celebrate my first granddaughter, Melody."

The throne room erupted in celebration. Triton saw the exaltation of his family, and then beckoned Sebastian to him. Sebastian slowly neared.

"I have a very special job for you, Sebastian. I need for to be the liaison between us and Ariel. To arrange a time so I can see my new granddaughter. Say, next week."

Sebastian squawked. This was not what he wanted. However, Arista somehow heard this and quickly swam to Triton."

"Oh, Daddy, please let me make the arrangements. I want to be the liaison."

Upon hearing this, the other daughters came over and argued about who got to go to the castle. The argument was not vicious, but every daughter wanted a chance at it.

"Ahem! I have a solution." All looked at him as he turned his trident and holds it with the points down. He presents the staff to the daughters.

"Whoever gets last grab staff may be the Official Liaison."

Andrina made the first grab, but was chastised. "Wait for it. When I give the word, you may start to grab," advised Triton.

Triton held it outwards. "Ready and GO!" The hands started to grab it, going higher and higher. It was so quick that it was over hardly after it began. The winner was Arista.

"Hooray! Calloo callay!" Arista swam around in circles, as she was so glad to have won. The other sisters were envious, but not resentful. Triton gestured Arista over.

"You get to make the arrangements so we can all see Melody. We will arrive next week, as I want to give the parents a chance to settle in and for Ariel to recover.

"I'm on my way." Arista was already off but was recalled by Triton.

"Before you go, take Sebastian with you, as he knows how to get there."

Arista looked anxiously at Sebastian. She wanted to go now. He barely clamped onto Arista's tail and off they went, zooming away.

"Noooooooo! You're going too faaaaaaaaaaaast!"

Sebastian's voice faded into the waters as Arista sped out of sight. Triton sat in his throne and mulled over the prospect of being a grandfather. He was so happy.

At the pier that was attached to Eric's castle, a bell was heard ringing. It was mounted in such a way that it could only be rung by merfolk. There was a ladder that reached from the pier to a low dock.

Arista was ringing and ringing the bell, but nothing was happening. She was getting perturbed.

"How long do I have to ring this? Maybe it's better if I just drag myself up the steps?" she grumped.

"Oh, well, you know humans. They probably can't hear us and...wait. Do you hear that?"

Arista heard a clumping sound. As she looked up, she could see, peering over the railing, Grimsby. He was a little shocked to see a mermaid, especially one waving at him.

"Oh, just marvelous," he mumbled. He looked down to Arista. "I'll be right down, my dear."

Grimsby started to the climb down the ladder. He was muttering, but not loud enough to be heard fully. Arista watched him with great fascination. She turned to Sebastian.

"How do they make those things work? I'd much rather have fins." Arista started to preen and pretty herself.

"I'm sure you get used to it," added Sebastian.

They looked at each other and laughed. "What a silly idea!"

Grimsby negotiated the pier, as the last rung was a bit higher than the bottom of the pier. His foot wavered about, trying to find the floor. He eventually succeeded. As he stepped off, he adjusted himself for presentation.

"Yes, my dear, what can I do for you?"

Arista rose up as high as she could go. "Good day. I am Princess Arista. As the official liaison for King Triton, I have been asked to set up a royal appointment for the King to see his new granddaughter next week."

Grimsby's mouth drops open, shocked. How could they have known so quickly? he thought. "Well...AHEM...the Princess is still recovering and I'm not certain if a week will be enough time. Having a baby is very draining on the mother and the castle is beginning to adjust to this new occupant"

"I appreciate your concern, but if you let Ariel know, I'm sure she'd be very anxious to see her father, the King, and her sisters, the princesses, as we are to see her new baby daughter, Melody."

I'm not going to win this discussion, mulled Grimsby. "We can work on this. Next week at this time?"

"That will be fine. And we'll have it over in the cove on the other side of the castle. It is secluded enough from prying eyes and Ariel can easily get to it. We'll be here at 9 in the morning, as Ariel will be rested."

"I will pass this information on to their Highnesses." He turned to go, but was called back by Arista.

"I have an idea. If you will leave a basket here, with the information in it, we can communicate better."

Grimsby stopped. I could send one of the young bucks to deposit the bottle or basket, he thought. "That is a wonderful idea. I will leave a note here tomorrow for you."

"Thank you. So until then, good day."

Arista waved good-bye and splashed off, her flukes shimmering in the sun. Grimsby got a bit of spray from her push off.

"This is just grand!" he groused.

Grimsby, drying himself, came into Ariel's room, where she was holding Melody, singing to her. She was sitting in a rocking chair. Although she had recovered from the morning, she was still depressed. The chair was positioned so if Eric returned, she could get to him quickly.

"I heard the bell, Grimsby. Who was it?"

"How could you? I just.." Grimsby could not handle these mermaids, as they were so aware of their environment. He couldn't sneak anything past them.

"It was one of your sisters, uh, Ariadne, Amelia, Alicia, Amanda, Agamemnon..."

Ariel started to giggle. "It can't be all that hard to remember those names."

"Well, in any case, whoever she was, she wished to set up a royal appointment for her and your father, the King, to see Melody.

Ariel brightened up immediately. "This is the best news ever. When? Where? For how long? Maybe I can get Daddy to make Melody human."

The barrage of questions from Ariel overwhelmed Grimsby. It sounded like a dull roar. He held. So did Ariel.

Then he realized there was a dull roar. Ariel heard it, too. They both went to the balcony.

Grimsby was surprised to see a knot of people yelling and cheering their congratulations. Ariel smiled as she held Melody up, completely covered. Grimsby was beside himself.

"I guess everyone knows by now."

"Yes, isn't it marvelous?" grinned Ariel.

"Delightful." Grimsby was now depressed.

End Notes

During this "thinking" time, Disney's "Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea" came out. Although nowhere near as entertaining as the original film, it did give me ideas to help my own plot along.

The first, obvious, change was Ariadne became Melody. I might as well keep this in context. I had originally felt I could call this "Little Mermaid 1½", but thought that would be a stupid idea and no one would go for it. Just slightly ahead of my time, it appears.

There were some actions that puzzled me.

When Ariel turns into a mermaid, Eric has no troubles in accepting this action. It almost comes across as something that may have happened once before.

Then came the great line for me, "Feet or fins, it doesn't matter."

This indicated to me a great deal of acceptance to what Ariel was. And Melody's love of the sea could be better explained with this nascent mermaidhood. So something must have happened to cause this change in Eric.

Another thing puzzled me: Melody is an only child. Why?

This was the unspoken subtext of my story. The events of Melody's birth were of such a traumatic nature, despite how things turned out, they decided not to have sex again, lest there would be a repeat of this.

I mean, you can't go running to Daddy every time the genetic pool deals you a funny hand to have, in essence, a "make over." Or, perhaps, they are very cautious in their intimacy, choosing "safe" times to express their deep and abiding love for each other.

Hey, THEY put it out there, I'm just following hunches

The end of the script was framed up, but the deciding factor was still missing.


	7. Chapter 7: The Trap is Set

CHAPTER 7 **CHAPTER 7**

"The Trap Is Set"

The kingdom was in exultation. Garlands were flying about and the town people rejoiced in the good news. Larger celebrations were being planned, but, for now, the mood was one of giddy ebullience.

There was dancing and cheering. The streets were littered with colorful bits of paper and noisemakers added to the din. All was exuberance, save for one man, a man on a mission.

Mephisto was striding through the streets, oblivious to the celebrations around him. A man with a purpose, he headed, without error or deviation, to his moored ship and strode up the gangplank.

He went below and into the galley of the ship. It was lunchtime and a variety of people were eating. But what a variety of people! Mephisto looked them over. There they are, he thought, my human oddities.

A tall, beautiful bearded lady was delicately nibbling the food before her. At her side, a black man was shooting out a stream of fire at a piece of glass, and then eating it, crunching loudly.

At the end of the table was an immense man with skin like a snake, happily gobbling down his feast. On the other side of the table was a trio of midgets, trying to get at the food that was just out of reach. Beside them was a hulking female, taking up loads of space.

One more person was wearing a turban and a loincloth and the last was dressed in regular clothes, but his hands were gooey. They could all hear the hundreds of people speaking and cheering at the same time.

Mephisto stood at the table, but did not eat. As he tried to get their attention, Felicity, the bearded lady, spoke first.

"What's going on out there? We've been hearing this all day long."

She motioned outside. Before Mephisto could answer, the turbaned man grabbed his own ear and stretched it to make a megaphone.

"What's the word, Rubber Guy?" said Lizard Lad.

Hammal looked intently. "It appears to be a celebration for the birth of the Royal Princess."

Mephisto, again, tried to speak, but was overridden by the hulking, Amazonian woman, Sampo.

"A baby? A baby girl?" Sampo immediately grabbed a length of thick metal and shaped it into a heart very quickly. The others applauded. Mephisto again tried to speak, but the little people stood one atop the other and chimed in.

"You know what that means, Tom?" said Harriet.

"We could get a chance to perform in town!" answered Dick.

"In front of Royalty," added Tom, breathlessly.

They proceeded to do some tumbling. Tom was flipped too hard and headed towards a porthole, which he could easily have passed through.

Abruptly, a hand landed on his head and he was stopped cold. A little bit of slimy ooze dribbled down his face. On the other end of the mess was the Human Fly.

"You have got to be more careful. It just wouldn't be right to have the act be a duet," chided Greg, playfully.

"Yuck! My head is all sticky, Greg! It'll take forever to clean this up."

"Oh. Would you prefer the alternative?"

Before Tom could respond, Greg thrust his arm out the porthole. Tom hung precariously over the ocean, screaming frantically.

Felicity put her hand over her face. "They do this every time. When is it going to stop?"

"Awww, take it easy. You know he really likes the little guy," said Irongut before he charred a piece of wood.

Greg held for a moment as he counted to five, and then pulled him in. Saying nothing, Greg pleasantly rolled his hand off of Tom's head. A schlurping sound was heard.

Tom was livid. "You...you weirdo."

Greg was not offended by the line and smiled broadly. "I prefer to think of myself as a human superlative."

Everyone was nattering and commenting between themselves. Mephisto attempted to restore some order. "Oh, people. Fellow actors. You guys. QUIET!"

As Mephisto yelled, everyone stopped and turned to him. Preening himself, he spoke.

"Yes, it is true. The Prince and Princess have had a new baby daughter. And if we play our cards right, we could get to perform at the palace!

There were various stages of shock and delight around the table.

"What an opportunity!" commented Irongut, as he belched out another stream of fire.

Felicity went on. "I once played in front of the Tsar of Russia. That was a treat."

Lizard Lad continued to eat. "I just hope the food there is better than this slop." He looked over to Sampo, pointing at her plate. "You gonna finish that?"

"I want you to put together your acts. Meanwhile, I go to make the arrangements. This will be our greatest performance ever!"

Mephisto left while everyone talked on, probably the few people in the kingdom that were not discussing the new princess. A few of them got up and headed to their rooms. Lizard Lad conintued to eat. Mephisto went to his quarters as well.

Once in his room, Mephisto was making himself presentable, gazing at himself, not in a narcissistic manner, but to make a good case for the highnesses. If this was to go well, he thought, I have to look the best I ever did.

There was a rap on the door. It was a special rap. The door creaked open. Mephisto didn't turn around; he already knew exactly who it was. He crossed his arms as the door was silently closed.

"Yes, I heard those stories, too, about the baby. And if they are true, even in the tiniest bit, we'll have a new member in our family."

Mephisto gave a small, sinister laugh. "Don't worry about a thing. I've got a marvelous plan."

End Notes

So, puzzling things through, I was still searching for the McGuffin to pull it all together

Watching the History Channel, they had a special on the American Side Show or the Freak Show. They showed the Wild Man of Borneo, the Rubber Man, the Strong Man.

Then it came to me.

The traveling acting troupe was really a freak show. Instead, I called it a Collection of Human Oddities. I started to note down whom should be represented.

Jo-Jo, the Dog-Faced Boy was rejected as too cruel, as was the Fat Lady. The India Rubber Man, the Human Fly and the Bearded Lady were put into play.

I debated the Strongman, but felt there was inadequate representation for the women, so he became a she. I had some midgets and a fire eater as well. (OK, "midgets" is a poor term to use, so I try to avoid calling them that in the story/script.)

I realized that these people needed to do something more, instead of merely being gawked at. The Strong Lady could do feats of strength, but I had the Bearded Lady be an adept knife thrower and lock picker.

The Human Fly would walk up walls and hang by his feet and the India Rubber Man would showcase his elastic abilities. The Little People were a tumbling acrobatic team, so I made them family (two brothers and a sister).

I caught a performance of Penn and Teller and watched as the immense Penn Gillette managed to squeeze himself into a little barrel.

Thus came Lizard Lad. It also reminded me of a Spider Man comic I read, where the Snake managed to slither through a 90 degree elbow pipe. That was incorporated into the mix as well.

The fire eater needed more. Aside from making him Black (which was, at the time I was writing this, a really big deal for Disney), I recalled a man on the "Tonight Show" that ate a light bulb. So Irongut would roast the object and devour it.

My team was set; all I needed was the evil leader.


	8. Chapter 8, The Show Must Go On

CHAPTER 8 **CHAPTER 8**

"The Show Must Go On"

A few days had passed. Night fell about the castle, which was ablaze with lights and bedecked with banners. The celebration continued onward with a fireworks show above the castle.

Inside the castle, the Grand Ballroom was crowded with people. A giant curtain was hung across a portion of the room to mask the performers. Eric and Ariel were there, sitting on their thrones, with Melody in her crib. She was heavily swaddled, so no one could see the fin portion, and was under the constant stare of Ariel.

From behind the curtain, Mephisto gazed at the crowd. He was not nervous at all. The others, however, were restless, constantly checking their props and doing a dry run of their trick. Only Greg was an oasis of calm, who sat, reading a book, although the pages stuck together every time he turned a page. Mephisto addressed them.

"Now, this is just like any other show we've done."

"Except for the diversion," added Sampo.

Mephisto blanched for a moment. "What diversion?" he probed.

"Playing before the Prince and Princess, what else?" said Sampo.

Mephisto relaxed; his plan was safe.

"Look, they're just like other people, so, play your parts well. I want a good show from you!"

Mephisto leaned into the last line hard. Some were taken aback by this flare of rage. There was a drum roll. Mephisto held for a moment, and then burst from the curtains.

Mephisto looked stunningly magnificent as he acknowledged the applause of the crowd. Arms stretched upwards, he did a small turn. As the applause died down, he spoke.

"Ladies and gentlemen, dignitaries, Royal personages. Welcome to this Command Performance of Mephisto's Amazing Circus of Human Oddities..."

From the back, Greg's voice pealed forth. "Human Superlatives!"

As the crowd laughed, Mephisto fumed. He couldn't do a thing about it. He continued.

"What you will see may shock or surprise or even amaze you. But you certainly will never forget what goes on here tonight."

The crowd was sufficiently awed. Ariel was very intent, although she kept an eye on Melody. Eric was rather bored. He'd seen things like this before; Ariel never had.

"This is so exciting!" chirped Ariel. Eric yawned.

"I don't really know why we agreed to this. Especially with..well, you know. It just seems like an unnecessary risk." Eric turned back to the show.

Ariel sighed. It looked like it would be a long night.

Mephisto continued with his spiel. "How do you define strength? How do you define beauty? Can the two exist together? You tell me, as we present Sampo!"

With the applause calling her forth, out stepped Sampo, dressed in a very feminine outfit. This could not disguise the fact that she was huge in stature.

Ariel gasped. She had never seen anyone, man or woman, so big. Eric mumbled. "Kind of like the Princess of Glowerhaven."

Sampo did some graceful ballet moves. As she twirled about, she stopped. A table was blocking her way. She crouched down and grasped the table. In doing so, the dress was shredded off as she flexed her muscles. People gasped as her rippling shoulder and back muscles burst through the dress, revealing an outfit better suited for weight lifting.

Holding the table firmly, she lifted it up and easily transported it over several feet from where it was. Then it was gently placed back down. Mephisto, on cue brought out a chair, which he held aloft.

"We see here an ordinary chair." He approached Eric and proffered the chair. "Your majesty, I would like you to examine this chair. Please note that it is a solid chair, and that it has not been weakened or tampered with in any way."

Eric checked the rungs and the seat back, and then knocked on the seat portion itself with a loud rap. He was satisfied it was the genuine article. Mephisto gave it back to Sampo, who proceeded to juggle it about.

"If I could have a volunteer from the audience for this portion of the performance," said Mephisto, wheeling about.

Out of nowhere, Grimsby was pushed into the area. He tried to escape, but Mephisto was all over him.

"You're a very brave man to do this," Mephisto confided in Grimsby. "She might even get it right this time."

Grimsby looked horrified and protested, to no avail. "Now, see here, my good man, I haven't got time for some-thing this silly and there are others who could.."

Grimsby was plunked into the chair. Sampo came from behind, grasped one of the leg rungs with her teeth and hoisted the chair, and Grimsby, into the air. Grimsby was terrified as to what was going on.

Once the chair was as high as it could go, Sampo then balanced it in her hands, but on two legs. She made it wobble and teeter, as if it was going to fall, but it didn't.

She then started to twirl it about, faster and faster. Grimsby held on for dear life. Suddenly, it was flung into the air and Grimsby got ejected. Sampo grabbed both Grimsby and the chair.

As the crowd applauded, Sampo proceeded to crush the chair with her other arm. She put Grimsby down and he scampered back into the crowd.

While Sampo took a bow, Irongut came in with a broom and a bucket to clean up the mess. He proceeded to sit down and eat the chair.

He pulled out a pair of swabs and lit one, then proceeded to spit fire at the chair to char it a bit before he dined some more.

Backstage, Mephisto spoke to a shadowy figure, while the others looked on at the performance. "You know what to do."

The figure was dark against the drapes, more of a specter. The shadow stole away as Mephisto watched for a moment, then went out to introduce the next act. He had to shoo away Irongut, who was devouring everything in sight.

Mephisto gazed intently at the crowd. "Now we move from the massive to the minute. A trio of personages no bigger than your thumb, but full of vim and vigor for people twice their size. Here are Tom, Dick and Harriet!"

The three tumblers rolled out and performed a series of back flips and pyramids, hurling themselves through the air and at each other. They formed a variety of structures with such speed and rapidity, there was hardly any time to take it all in. Everyone was so taken, afraid to look away, lest they miss something, no one noticed the figure stealthily snaking its way around the crowd.

It arrived behind the thrones, near the cradle. As it neared the crib, it held, waiting the right time to move. Harriet was flung into the air as high as Tom could hurl her. She spun in the air for an abnormally long time. All eyes were riveted on them.

With the attention elsewhere, the figure struck. In the crib, Melody was wriggling about. The gloved hand came in and rapidly unwrapped the bunting. When the tail flukes appeared, the child was merely covered over and the hand left, retreating as silently as it came.

Backstage, even Mephisto was amazed at Harriet's performance, looking out at she tumbled in near defiance of gravity. A tap on his shoulder had him lean back. The information was whispered quickly. An evil smile appeared on Mephisto's face. It's all true! He clapped in appreciation as the act ended to riotous applause.

Ariel was applauding madly, and then turned to Melody to see her fluke was exposed. Quickly scanning, no one could see in. Ariel quickly re-bundled Melody, but looked around apprehensively. Something wasn't right.

The show continued. Felicity was an adept knife thrower and lock picker, freeing herself from inside a locked bag; Hammal tied his body into impossible configurations without a trace of pain or discomfiture; Lizard Lad slithered through a 90-degree pipe with ease, much to the disbelief of the crowd. He even asked the crowd up to examine for themselves.

Ariel would have like to go down and examined for herself, but Melody's protection came first.

Greg scaled the walls of the ballroom, hanging upside down. Ariel made sure he could not peer into the bassinet and see anything of Melody.

At the end, Mephisto came out. "What you have seen is amazing, but ask yourself, was it real? Did I actually see what I think I saw?" He rubbed his eyes in mock surprise.

Mephisto pulled out a large, seemingly solid, ring and held it up, and then banged it onto the floor to show its solidness. He shook it hard and another ring appeared, hanging from the first. He spun the second ring and a third appeared.

After a few moments, he had five interconnected rings and proceeded to construct fabulous sculptures with the rings. When he made a towering structure, he suddenly shook the rings violently and it returned to one ring. He tapped it on the floor again to show it was solid and put it away. The crowd went nuts.

Backstage, everyone in the troupe watched.

"He does that so well," commented Sampo.

"If I had a fake ring, I could do it, too!" harped Dick.

Mephisto took off his cape and swirled it backstage. It moved through the air as though it had a life of its own. "You have been mesmerized by what we have done. But you haven't seen real Mesmerization! I need a volunteer from the audience!"

End Notes

Mephisto was, and is, an evil-sounding name. Now, the reason I chose him to be a David Copperfield clone is my friend, Greg Proops.

Greg is a stand-up comic and he has a tape of his performance in Edinburgh. One segment of it, which runs about 20 minutes, has him rashing on David Copperfield in particular and magicians in general.

Also, I saw a lot of promotion for Mephisto Shoes. If you have seen their logo, the "M" is looking a bit sinister, so it just all came together.

The final piece of the puzzle was a trip to the State Fair. In one of the plazas, a man was busy hypnotizing audience members into doing actions that were hilarious.

I now had what I needed to attack the script.

A pregnant Ariel, smothered by Eric's anxiousness over his impending fatherhood, unconsciously alienates Ariel.

The mermaid child, in context with the Human Oddities, could be construed as a metaphor for birth defects, and many people are just not up to the task. So, Eric is hardened by his reticence, as this is not what he wanted or expected and he just doesn't know what to do or how to handle it.

This part was still very hard to write, as I have to make his sympathetic. Again, he is not a monster, just blindsided by events and he is losing control of things, so he is not thinking rationally and is, emotionally, a raw nerve.

Now, as they say, the plot thickens.


	9. Chapter 9, The Truth Will Out

**CHAPTER 9**

"The Truth Will Out"

Mephisto stared at the sea of hands. People were pleading to be the volunteer. It was like feeding pigeons, as they nearly descended upon him. He stopped to stare a moment at Grimsby, who retreated into the back. Mephisto held up his finger, shuttling it about, trying to determine who would be best for this part of the show.

Backstage, the troupe looked on. "He is in rare form tonight," commented Greg.

"I have never seen so many wanting to be mesmerized," added Felicity

As he went to pick, he turned suddenly to see Ariel and Eric. Pausing to think, he strode up to Eric. "Perhaps his Royal Highness would care to be a volunteer?"

Eric was hesitant at first. "Well, I don't know," he stalled. He looked to Ariel.

"Go on. You are the ruler of your people." Ariel batted her eyelashes at him. Eric turned back to Mephisto, and then headed down. The crowd clapped their appreciation as Sampo placed a chair in the center of the floor.

Before Eric sat on it, he checked it out, as it was identical to the one Sampo destroyed. The crowd laughed. Eric sat confidently.

Mephisto came up to him, making odd gestures. "Prince, look into my eyes. Look deep. Loooooooooooooook into my eyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!" Mephisto grimaced and leered, popping his eyes outwards, flailing his tongue, doing over-exaggerated motions. The crowd snickered. Mephisto came across as a really bad hypnotist. Eric crossed his arms, bored.

"I'm not easily mesmerized," he proclaimed.

Mephisto continued the motions, curling his fingers and moving his arms back and forth. "What about when you met the Princess for the first time?"

The crowd roared with delight. Ariel blushed. Eric smiled.

Mephisto continued. "And you also remember the first time you went to SLEEP NOW!"

Instantaneously, Eric fell asleep, slightly sprawled in the chair. The crowd went "Oooooh", as it happened so fast. Ariel stood up, but Mephisto calmed her and the crowd.

"The prince is all right. He is just in a deep slumber." He turned to Eric. "You hear only the sound of my voice and you will do as I ask. Sleep deeper."

Mephisto placed him palm of Eric's forehead and he slept deeper. Mephisto turned to the audience. "I cannot make the Prince do anything that may hurt or injure himself, but I can give him other suggestions."

Turning back again to Eric, he spoke in a loud voice. "Prince, you will not be able to remember your name, no matter how hard you try. At any time, when I say, 'One, two, three, awake!' and snap my fingers, you will come out of your trance."

A hand was placed on Eric's forehead. "Prince, you are alert." Eric came around, as thought nothing was wrong, but he was still hypnotized.

Mephisto began to pace about in front of Eric. "Your Highness, how do you feel?"

"I feel fine," said Eric with a slightly defiant tone.

"Are you Mesmerized?"

"No. As I said I wasn't easily mesmerized." Mephisto nodded in agreement. "That's right. So you did." Mephisto went right beside Eric and pointed to Ariel. "And who is that radiant vision on the throne?"

"That is my wonderful wife, Ariel."

"I see. And that gentleman over there? Trying very hard not for me to see him?" He tracked down a nervous Grimsby, scampering away.

"That would be my Royal Advisor Grimsby."

"What about that one? Wearing that silly hat."

"That is Padraic, the Court Painter."

Mephisto crossed his arms and looked sufficiently amazed. "Well, you know everyone is your castle. You really do."

"They are people and deserved to be treated as such."

"How considerate of you. And when they need to ask you a question, how do they address you?"

"They call me Prince.." Eric stopped for a moment, completely at a loss.

Mephisto stepped in. "I'm sorry. I didn't catch that. What is your name?"

"I am...I am...I.."

A look of consternation crossed Eric's face as he struggled to recall. His mouth dropped open as people could see him straining to come up with his name. The crowd tittered, and then laughed, as Eric could not recall who he was.

Irongut commented, "He's got the audience right where he wants them. That's talent."

When the laughter reached its peak, Mephisto placed his hand on Eric's forehead. "Sleep."

Eric quickly went under. The crowd applauded wildly. Mephisto helped Eric sit up straight, but whispered quickly, so only he could hear.

"Regardless of your deep love for your wife and child, every time I say the word 'baby', you will get more and more angry. When you hear it for the fourth time, you will say 'I hate them both', raving wildly. Show your true feelings.

"You will remember nothing of this, but you will continue to rant when you hear 'baby'."

Mephisto brushed off imaginary lint from Eric and came up slowly to face the crowd.

"We can also examine the very core of what a person thinks and feels. We spend our days hiding from ourselves. What does he really believe?" Mephisto turned to Eric.

"Prince, awake. How do you feel?"

"I feel fine."

"Prince, how do you really feel?"

"I..I'm a little tired."

"I see. I understand that there is cause for celebration. True?"

"Very true."

Mephisto pondered for a moment. "And the reason is?"

"We have a new child!"

"You do?"

"Yes, that's right."

"What kind?"

Eric spoke assuredly. "It was a girl. I had hoped for a boy. But that's OK. There's next time."

Ariel blushed as red as her hair as the crowd snickered.

Mephisto went on. "A baby girl."

"Yeah. A baby girl, he grumbled. The tone was shifting. Some people tittered uncomfortably. This wasn't the Eric they knew.

"What does your baby girl look like?"

"It looks like a baby. What do you expect?"

Ariel puts on a brave face as Eric becomes snarling and resentful. The rest of the acting troupe gets concerned as the tension grows.

Mephisto ventured cautiously."What..what is the name of your baby?"

Eric's tone was now mocking. "Her mother calls her Melody."

Ariel panted and wheezed, as she felt herself getting hotter and sweaty. The embarrassment was getting too much for her, but she stayed on the throne.

Mephisto played his part with mock chagrin, as he "realized" he'd gone too far. "Well, we'll talk about other things."

Eric's tone had completely changed. "That would be very nice."

"Perhaps about pirates or people you have met or exotic locales."

"I could do that." Eric seemed almost normal and everyone relaxed.

"I shan't talk further about the baby."

Eric detonated and launched into a screed.

"I hate them both!"

Everyone was taken aback.

Mephisto probed. "What did you say about your wife and baby?"

"I hate them both! I hate them both! I hate them both!"

The words stung and cut deeply. Ariel was pole-axed and didn't know what to do. She felt a thousand burning eyes upon her, where her every move was amplified.

Mephisto held for a beat, and then called out, "One, two, three, awake!"

He snapped his fingers and Eric came around, completely unaware of what had transpired. Mephisto pretended to be remorseful for his "discovery". Eric looked to Ariel, tears pouring down her face. She grabbed Melody and fled.

Eric looked about to see faces in shock or anger. The crowd broke up. Mephisto disappeared into the screened-off area as Eric was at a complete loss.

Eric started to follow after Ariel and Melody, but Grimsby intercepted Eric and moved him off to a part of the room, away from everyone. It was an animated discussion, despite the low tones.

Backstage, the troupe immediately packed up to go. The murmurings of the crowd filled the background as all were transfixed at the events. Mephisto hurried the performers along, but smiled slyly.

Outside the castle, a wagon was being loaded up and the last of the troupe got on. Mephisto helped them in amid comments from everyone.

Greg was never at a loss for words. "How wonderfully pleasant."

Sampo was stunned. "Who'd have thought it?"

"That's royalty for you," added Irongut, as he got on.

Mephisto went to the front of the wagon to the driver. "Head back to the ship. I want to express my condolences for the incident."

But how will you get back?" asked Hammal, also in front.

"Don't worry about that. Just go."

Mephisto slapped the horse on its haunches and the wagon lurched out. Adjusting himself, Mephisto headed back to the castle.

In the darkened nursery, Ariel sobbed. She had never been so unhappy in all of her life. The man she loved and whom she had sacrificed so much for was a...A gently tapping came at her door.

Ariel made a vain attempt to wipe away the tears. "Please..please go away."

Carlotta's warm voice could be heard. "It's just for a moment. It's the Mesmerize."

"I..I don't wish to see anyone!"

Mephisto could be heard. "It will take only a moment. Please, your Royal Highness."

Wiping the tears away, cuddling Melody, Ariel went to the door and opened it. A shaft of light pierced the gloom as Carlotta and Mephisto stand there.

"Thank you, Carlotta," remarked Mephisto.

Carlotta remained at the open door. Mephisto held for a moment, and then plead his case, hat in hand.

"I wish to offer my most sincere and abject apology for what happened. I try to bring joy and entertainment to all whom I meet, not this. Had I but known, I..." Mephisto paused, groping for the right thing to say, and then let his words fail him, bowing his head in despair.

"Had we all but known.." sniffled Ariel. Ariel took Melody over to the crib. Mephisto grabbed a candle to give Ariel light. Ariel settled Melody in the crib, who was still tightly swaddled.

Mephisto held the candle high to give better light in the crib. As she tucked Melody in, Mephisto put the candle down on a table, and then turned to the window.

"Would you like the drapes drawn, your Highness?"

Ariel nodded agreement, and Mephisto pulled them shut. However, unseen by anyone, he unlatched the catch. His work done, Mephisto slowly walked to the door. As he got to the threshold, he turned about.

"I realize I cannot undo what has happened. I am just so sorry that it occurred." Looking sufficiently saddened, he left the castle.

Carlotta, equally saddened, drifted the door silently shut.

Outside the castle, Mephisto turned and looked at the nursery window behind him. Giving an evil smile and a nod, he left. A shadowy figure lurked outside the walls.

Evening passed into early morning. The clock in the darkened room ticked away. The drapes unfurled momentarily and the figure ducked in. Moving with precision and grace, it looked over at a sleeping Ariel, her back towards the window. Heading to the crib, it discovered Melody was gone! Nowhere to be seen!

It looked about the room, which was very dark. It saw Melody in bed with Ariel. After examining the situation, the figure slithered up to the sleeping pair.

Making sure both were sound asleep, it extracted Melody with a fluid movement. Picking up Melody, the figure looked at her, feeling where the fin should be. Then Melody made a cooing sound, hardly louder than the ticking clock.

Ariel bolted upright to see Melody floating about. Before Ariel could react, the figure muted Ariel, stuffing a cloth in her mouth. She was quickly tied up and hoisted over its shoulder.

Bolting out, the windows closed, all shinny down the side of the tower with rapidity. Ariel was reluctant to do anything as she and Melody could easily fall. In mere moments, all are away from the castle.

Once on the ground, Ariel started flailing about, striking and pummeling the figure, who pushed her down. Too angry to withdraw the gag, Ariel launched at the figure with an unmatched intensity, ramming and kicking. The figure spun her about and put an arm about her neck. Ariel struggled for a moment before she went limp.

At the nearby wagon, the figure jumped on with Melody, and then dragged Ariel afterwards, loading her on like a sack of potatoes.

In the wagon, Ariel, groggy, opened her eyes and was shocked to see Mephisto, who glowered at the figure. The figure shrugged, and squeezed Ariel's neck again before she could speak. Crashing onto the wagon floor, unconscious, Ariel was gagged better and tied up. They all galloped off, into the night.

End Notes

This was the hardest part of the script to write, and rewrite. This is what I call "The Crux". The entire script (or story) hinges on this one particular scene and it has to be played properly.

The first time this scene was presented, I was excoriated for it. The original language went beyond what Mephisto has instructed Eric to do and many felt that I had turned Eric into a #& or a #&+ or even a !#&#?(. (Sorry, but some of the language was particularly brutal).

What I had to do was flatten out the language, so he parroted back exactly what Mephisto had requested. This scene is tricky for numerous reasons.

I am presenting Eric and "out of focus"; things are not going well for him, and there is a degree of resentment festering within. Caught off-guard by all the changes, he is, in a sense, blaming Ariel for giving him a "defective" child.

He doesn't want to think this way, but you know how your mind can sometimes grab hold of a problem and worry it to death. Mephisto knew this and played Eric like a violin to put everyone in turmoil.

But the trickiness comes from the fact that Eric is NOT a monster, but does not know how to fully come to grips with what is happening. I have a delicate balancing act between the Real Eric and the Honest Eric.

It took three massive edits and repostings to script sites to finally get this scene to the (hopefully) best results that I could. I always wanted this story to be a bit darker, that you really have to work at "happily ever after" and nothing comes easy, especially with life and love.

I no longer have any of those early missteps, as I was doing editing of the story while I was writing it, so the final First Draft is really more like a Third or Fourth Draft, as I did hot edits and wholesale discarding of wrong directions to go.

The following chapter was just as difficult to write properly, but that was due more to pacing. More on that when we get to that chapter.


	10. Chapter 10, Crowning the King

**CHAPTER 10**

"Crowning the King"

The day dawned bright, but not as bright as yesterday. There was a palpable sadness in the day.

In the sumptuous dining area, Eric was alone at an enormous table. There were three places set up, but only he dined. Looking sallow, Eric didn't really eat, but merely pushed the food about his plate. His head was in his left hand as the fork scraped against the china.

Grimsby entered, looking depressed. Eric stared at him. They said nothing, but that was enough for Eric.

"No answer, eh?" mumbled Eric, sinking lower.

Grimsby came up to him, but did not sit. "She won't reply to anyone."

Eric slammed the fork onto the table and it skittered down the length of it. "Look, I don't recall anything that I said last night."

Recoiling from the outburst, Grimsby continued. "To add to matters, her father, King Triton, is due to show up today to see his new grandchild."

Eric rose from the table slowly, but he knew what he had to do. "I will prepare myself. I can at least make some degree of showing."

"I will continue to see if I can get to the Princess and the baby."

Eric lashed out. "I hate them both!" Shocked at was came out of his mouth, Eric quickly left the room. Carlotta entered to clear the table, speaking to a gape-mouthed Grimsby.

"Well, I never.." fumed Carlotta.

On the beach, Eric was standing at the cove, dressed very regally. Pacing nervously, Eric was so absorbed in thought he was unaware that Max was bounding about, tearing up and down the sandy shore. Max was at the ready to play; all Eric had to do was anything: throw a stick, heave a rock, heave a fish carcass, something, anything.

Eric constantly looked out to the vastness of the sea before him. He then noticed the water began boil and churn. Arising from the depths, trident held high, was King Triton, surrounded by his six daughters and a phalanx of soldiers.

Eric froze at attention until he came onto the beach, borne on a crest of water. Also along were Flounder and Sebastian. Triton looked about.

"I don't see Ariel or Melody. Where could they be?" he intoned.

Smiling weakly, Eric answered. "Well, you know how she is. She wants everything to be perfect for you..and her sisters."

The daughters tittered as Triton looked on.

Sebastian spoke to Flounder. "Dat's just like her. She's never on time. Even for herself."

"Except she's got a great excuse this time."

Things were getting awkward as all waited until they both heard Grimsby call out.

"Your majesty!"

Eric and Triton turned to see Grimsby fast-walking towards them. He wanted to get to them quickly, but his old legs just weren't up to the task.

"It's the Royal Highnesses!" he gasped out.

"Do they need a few more minutes? Getting everything just right?" pried Eric. He could certainly use the extra time.

"Well, uh, she's gone."

"She's gone for a walk?" It was Eric's turn to be confused.

"She's missing. Her and the baby."

Upon hearing 'baby', Eric detonated. "Well, that's just fine with me! I hate them both!"

Triton recoiled at the screed. The daughters looked on with horror and fear. Alana broke into tears at such ugly words.

His rage inflamed, Triton rose up menacingly. "What kind of father are you to desert your wife and baby?"

Eric returned his vitriol in kind. "I didn't want a mermaid for a daughter! Never! And it's all Ariel's fault! I hate them both!"

Triton was stunned by the words. "Why you, I..wait! Melody is a merbaby?"

"Are all you undersea types hard of hearing? Of course

she is and I hate it. I hate them both!"

His patience completely eroded, Triton raised his trident to zap Eric, but was restrained by both Andrina and Arista. Fuming, Triton got ready to leave.

"This is why I wanted no contact with the human world. I will find my daughter and her baby and take them home with me. I will deal with you later!"

I'm not afraid of you! Find 'em and take 'em. I hate them both!" Eric was jumping up and down on the beach

Shocked as Eric was spluttering, Grimsby tried to calm him, but that only raised his ire. Triton turned and left.

"Eric! Your wife! Your baby!" began Grimsby.

Eric turned him fury onto him. "Don't you start with me either! I hate them both! I hate them both! I HATE THEM BOTH!"

Eric shrieked after Triton, who was barely able to contain himself. His knuckles went white as he gripped the trident with force. Arista thought she saw it bending under his anger.

As Eric turned to storm into the castle, he stumbled over Max and slammed his head hard into the beach, knocking himself unconscious.

Overhead, Scuttle flew into view. He saw Eric splayed out, Max running and barking frantically and Triton is heading out to sea, leaving behind a great wake.

"Hmmmmm. I wonder what's going on?" pondered Scuttle.

Time passed. In the library, Eric was stretched out on a lounge, head swathed in bandages. He came to slowly, and then bolted up with a start, reacting to his injury. He struggled to sit up, but was very unsteady. Collapsing back onto the lounge, Eric saw Grimsby enter, but he was rather distant from him.

"How are you, your Royal Majesty?"

Eric was taken aback by Grimsby's frosty tone.

"My head hurts and I feel nauseous, but other than that..Wait! What about the arrival of King Triton?"

Grimsby stared at Eric. The pressure must have gotten to him, he thought. My young charge has gone insane.

"You were there. He came and went, especially after you told him that you hated Ariel and baby Melody."

Eric bolted upright, despite the blinding pain, and looked completely lost. "I said that? Why would I want to say that? I admit I was a bit shocked at my daughter. I wasn't expecting a merbaby, but I have come to accept her as she is. She is my child. My baby."

Eric got up and teetered over to the fireplace. He stared at an enormous portrait of a king, a man full of regal bearing and stature. Eric looked very small compared to the portrait. Grimsby came up behind him.

"He was a great man, wasn't he?" Eric spoke without turning about, fully focused on the portrait.

"Yes, he was. I miss him. We all miss him."

"I never really knew my father," conceded Eric.

"He knew about people. And he accepted them for what they were."

Eric turned away from the portrait to see one of him and Ariel on their wedding day. She looked radiant, an aura seemingly emanating from the painting. Eric stared.

"If I did what you say I did, I have to make it up to both of them, if they'll let me."

"So, why did you say those things about your baby?" ventured Grimsby, nervously. Eric could still explode at any moment.

"What things did I say?! No one will tell me! What could I have said to make people detest me?"

Eric stared at Grimsby with incredulity, and then looked forlorn. Eric spoke in measured tones.

"What did I say?" forced Eric.

Grimsby shook his head ruefully. "If you don't know, thenyou don't want to know. You never want to know. What can you really recall?"

Eric strained to think. "Nothing. It's like a haze. I remember going over to the chair and sitting down, a couple of humorous comments, then..then..then Ariel running away in tears."

Eric rubbed his head as Carlotta entered with a tray. "Here is lunch," she said as flat and emotionless as possible. Carlotta was equally distant. As she started to go, she turned on Eric.

"Even strangers are nicer to your wife and baby daughter than you are!"

"What do you mean?" puzzled Eric.

"That elegant Mephisto came by to apologize for his actions. You never did! You didn't even stop by!"

"He came by? When?" probed Grimsby.

Carlotta dabbed at her eyes, still choked up over the incident. "Just as Ariel was going sleep. Mephisto came by and help put her and the baby to bed."

"Was he ever able to see that Melody was..well, did he?" Grimsby was earnest on this issue.

Carlotta shook her head 'no'. "Melody was swaddled tight, especially since she kicked free her coverings at the performance."

Eric, stunned stared over at Grimsby. Lost in thought, Grimsby gets a look of steely resolve on his face. He gritted his teeth and faced Eric.

"Baby." There was no reaction from Eric. Grimsby continued. "Baby. Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby.

Eric's face screwed up; he was angry. "Shut up and stop that!" Eric paused. "You're giving me a headache and I hurt enough as it is."

As Eric rubbed his head, Grimsby turned to Carlotta. "When did you last see Ariel and Melody?"

Carlotta pondered the question. "Actually, I can't recall seeing her at all since last night."

"She always says 'good morning' to everyone, every day, without fail," added Eric.

"I wish I was wrong, but I think Ariel and Melody have been kidnapped!"

Carlotta gasped in shock as Eric blanched.

"Kidnapped? What? By who?"

"Mephisto. He mesmerized you so that every time someone said 'baby', you got angry. He somehow found out about the rift between you and Ariel over Melody and Melody's..uh..special situation."

Eric tried to absorb all of this. "It's my fault. It's all my fault. My own ignorance has put Melody and Ariel in serious jeopardy. I want the locksmith to get up there and force that door open, now!"

Eric strode over to the window, flung apart the curtains and opened the panels. He stuck his head out and called down.

"Captain Prescott! Captain Prescott!"

A voice called up from the docks. "Aye, Prince Eric?"

"How long will it take to prepare my two ships for sailing?"

"We'll be needin' at least an hour."

"You've got 30 minutes! I have a wife and baby daughter to rescue!"

"Aye, aye!"

Eric shut the window smartly, and then proceeded to his room. Grimsby followed him through the castle.

"What are you going to do?"

"What I should have done in the first place. What I hope I can do now. We are going to find Ariel and Melody and try to repair the damage I've inflicted on them."

Eric entered his room and changed out. "I made a big mistake. I shouldn't have done it, but I did, and now I look like the fool I am."

Grimsby began to pack for him as Eric was all about the room.

"I now have given people the impression that I'm the worst person around, not merely a poor ruler. Well, I'm not going to stand for it. The time has come to do the right thing, and it should have been done all along. I'll do what it takes to accomplish this deed, even if it takes me the rest of my days."

With the bags packed, they headed down to the ships. Captain Prescott stood at the ready.

"We are almost ready for sailing. Just getting in a few provisions."

"Who will be piloting the other ship?"

"That would be me, your highness, Captain Amelia." She saluted sharply.

"We cast off as the first opportunity." said Eric, as he motioned Grimsby onto the ship with his bags.

"Beg pardon, Prince Eric, but cast off to where?" questioned Captain Prescott.

"Initially, west. We'll determine more while underway. I don't want to lose any more time than I already have. I have been taught a very hard lesson from all this. I won't be deterred from what I must do. Nothing will be allowed to stand in my way."

Once all was secure, the lines were hauled in and the ships made ready to depart. The sails billowed under the strong winds and headed out into the depths of the ocean. All watched as it disappeared.

Carlotta turned to Grimsby. "What'll you think will happen once he finds them?"

Grimsby shook his head ruefully. "I don't even want to think about that. It won't be a pleasant sight."

Meanwhile, in Atlantica, Triton was in his throne room, twitching his tail nervously. Around him were two of his guards, his daughters and other Atlanticans of importance. Triton slammed his fist onto the table, which held a map of the undersea realms.

"What are you going to do?" asked Aquata.

"What I should have done in the first place. What I hope I can do now. We are going to find Ariel and Melody and try to repair the damage inflicted on them."

Triton exited the throne room and signaled for his stable master. "I made a big mistake. I shouldn't have done it, but I did, and now I look like the fool I am."

As he headed out, his entourage followed him.

"I now have given people the impression that I'm the worst person around, not merely a poor ruler. Well, I'm not going to stand for it. The time has come to do the right thing, and it should have been done all along. I'll do what it takes to accomplish this deed, even if it takes me the rest of my days."

At the stable, Triton's sea chariot was at the ready, the three dolphins champing at the bit.

"Daddy, how will you find Ariel?" asked Andrina.

Triton held his trident aloft. "All I need do is follow the light from my trident. It shall guide me and I can rescue them both. And when I get back, there will be some major changes in dealing with the human world!" Triton fairly spat out the end of the sentence.

"I have been taught a very hard lesson from all this. I won't be deterred from what I must do. Nothing will be allowed to stand in my way."

With that, Triton peered at the light from the trident and saw the direction it went towards. Once all was secured, he cracked the reins and the chariot lifted off and headed into the depths of the ocean.

All watched as it disappeared.

Flounder turned to Sebastian. "What'll you think will happen once he finds them?"

Sebastian shook his head ruefully. "I don't even want to t'ink about dat. It won't be a pleasant sight."

End Notes

This was another difficult part to write, as Eric goes beyond what was suggested to him. Many felt THIS showed Eric's true colors, so I had to, again, balance out the hyptonism with his own feelings, but still keep it as such so he is not that big of a monster.

I also wrote this part wrong the first time. I had the revelation, then he went over to the portrait to ponder, after which he went to the window. Nope, wouldn't work, for he is delaying once he knows the truth. So, by flipping the scene about, when the truth be told, he then springs into action to make up for lost time.

This scene also had a song in it, what I call a "non-duet duet". EThis was seen in Little Mermaid II, when Ariel and Melody sing, but not in a classic duet. I had this idea before them.

The song was to show Eric's remorse and Triton's anger, as they say the exact same thing. You also see the differing motivations as to why they do what they do.

Another problem I had when I used to put this script out for review is that people didn't know how to review it. "How do I review a cartoon?" was a regular plaintive cry I heard.

Well, you review it like you would any other picture. Are the characters believable? Is the story interesting? Do yu really care what happens to them?

They also had problems with the music. "I can't hear the music." Then understand what I am trying to say with the music, stick in your own little ditty and tell me if I should convey these feelings with dialogue or lyrics.


	11. Chapter 11, Open Waters

**CHAPTER 11**

"Open Waters"

Mephisto's ship was making excellent time, borne along by a strong breeze from the east. The calm waters added to their alacrity as they sped farther and farther from the castle.

In the brig, Ariel was at the cell door, nervously trying to pick the lock while holding Melody. Being a mermaid, she had little need for or experience with locks. The only time she could remember was when the Sharkanians took her and Flounder hostage, trussing her up in a sunken ship. She remembered how heavy the chains were. But the key was nearby to retrieve. This time, it was all up to her.

She was using a small piece of metal to try and open the cell door. But there was the larger issue of the main door that led from the brig into the ship itself.

Between her and the outer door was a kind of visitor's gallery, so people could come in without screeching through the barred window on the outer door.

Just then, a loud click was heard. Ariel hid her tool and retreated to a chair as Mephisto came in, smiling broadly. Trailing behind were two burly sailors.

Ariel had never seen men that immense. They had bulging arms, thick necks and scowling faces. Wait, did they even have necks, she thought. They both crossed their arms, awaiting instructions.

Mephisto came right up to the bars. "And how are my guests?"

Without thinking, Ariel came off her stool, grabbed it with her free hand and threw it against the bars. It smacked hard. The sailors recoiled, but Mephisto didn't even flinch.

Still shielding Melody, Ariel stormed the bars. "How dare you! I demand that you release us immediately!" "Fine. Go." Mephisto pointed towards the porthole. Ariel looked at her captor, and then cautiously went over to look out. All she saw was a vast expanse of empty sea.

"You can leave any time," Mephisto called after her, "Provided, of course, you know the way home."

Ariel turned back, seething with outrage and anger.

"When my Eric gets to you..."

"Eric? Oh, the Prince. Could this be the same Prince who declared his complete hatred of you and your child? Where is he? Where could he be?" Mephisto looked upwards and tapped his foot in mock impatience.

"If he doesn't come after you soon, he never will. And even if he did, he couldn't find us. Besides, I have plans for you and yours." Mephisto gave an unnerving grin.

Ariel was terrified, but defiant. "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing he didn't already feel about you two. I just helped him express his true feelings. But enough of him; on to us. As you know, most people consider mermaids a figment of their imagination.

"What if I was able to give a mother-and-child combination? The fame, the glory, the money."

Mephisto signaled one of the guards out. He went into the hall and returned with the worst looking mermaid costume. The tail was ratty and shabby and it looked like a costume, thick, heavy and bulky.

Mephisto explained. "We used to have a fake one. You will wear this and your baby...your baby will be the real one!"

One sailor unlocked the cell door as the other hurled the costume in. It landed with an unpleasant thud. Ariel shielded Melody, but would not give in.

"And if I refuse?"

"Well, you certainly can. But you're not all that necessary to the plan. It would make it work better if it was the two of you, but should you have an, oh, 'accident', that works for me, too."

Mephisto smiled wickedly, and then turned to go. Suddenly, a piece of hardtack stuck hard in the wall and close to Mephisto's head. Mephisto was impressed as the hardtack was burrowed deeply by his ear. He turned back to Ariel. He smiled grandly as he looked to one of the sailors.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha! Cut her rations."

Mephisto trooped out, the sailors following in step. The door was securely locked. Ariel pondered her situation as she heard the footsteps fade away.

"Eric. Oh, Eric."

Ariel moved to the porthole to get some air. "If it was just me, I would dive right in. But I have you to think about, my precious Melody." She held Melody tight, who cooed on, oblivious to the circumstances that swirled about her, now like a dangerous whirlpool.

As they looked at the sea, a bird swooped down directly at her. Ariel backed up just as the bird crashed into the porthole and wedged himself solidly. Loose feathers fluttered about as Ariel recognized Scuttle.

Scuttle was unperturbed by his situation "How ya doin', sweetie?"

Scuttle noticed the rather seedy nature of the room and Ariel's bedraggled condition, but it still didn't dawn on him. "Traveling light?"

"I am so relieved to see a familiar face." Ariel moved closer to speaks in hushed tones. "I've been taken against my will! Melody and me! Help us!"

Even Scuttle understood that. "Right!" Then he held for a moment. "What do you want me to do?"

"You have to find Daddy or Sebastian. Tell them where we are so they can rescue us."

"What about the Prince? I can find him easily."

"I..I can't rely on him anymore." Ariel looked downcast; Scuttle doesn't know, she thought. The words were so painful to say, they came out slowly as Ariel understood their impact.

Scuttle was at the ready. "I'll get right on it!" Scuttle struggled against the porthole, wriggling about. "Uh, could I get a little push?"

Ariel pushed on his head and forced Scuttle out with a pop. Scuttle splashed into the water, and then righted himself. Scuttle looked up at Ariel as she peered through the porthole.

"How will you find us?" she asked plaintively.

"Don't you worry, now. As a bird, I have an uncanny sense of direction and location."

Scuttle tried to take off and promptly slammed into the hull of the ship. Shaking it off, he started again. "Don't worry, sweetie! I have everything under control."

Scuttle took off, but made a series of loops and circles, uncertain of his bearings. He eventually chose a direction and headed away.

Ariel sighed, watching him disappear into a speck. "I hope this plan works," she sighed, but went right back to work on the lock. "Just in case," she said to Melody.

Meanwhile, feeling full of himself, Mephisto fairly paraded into the galley. He saw the troupe in a circle, not very happy as they approached Mephisto menacingly. Mephisto sensed their discomfort.

"Yessssssssss?" Mephisto hissed out his response as he eyed them cautiously.

Sampo bore right in. Despite his height, Sampo still managed to tower over him. "Is it true? You kidnapped the Princess and her baby?"

"That baby is a real mermaid, and unappreciated by her husband!" argued Mephisto.

"Her mother is a real princess! Royalty. Blue blood. The crown. The heritage. The whole works," added Greg.

Hammal chimed in. "If they catch us.." Hammal put one arm under his neck and started to hang himself. He added gurgling sounds for realism. Mephisto glared at them bemusedly.

"They aren't going to catch us."

The rest of the troupe came in, Irongut speaking up first. "The Prince isn't going to stand idly by, no matter how he feels."

Lizard Lad was next. "This is absolute madness."

"They aren't going to catch us!" emphasized Mephisto.

The tumblers crowded around Mephisto's legs. "He'll hear stories if we try to let her perform," began Tom.

"You can't keep something like that a secret for long," said Dick.

"They could hunt us down in nothing flat," concluded Harriet.

"THEY AREN'T GOING TO CATCH US!" he fumed.

Felicity ended it for the troupe. "He won't give up. He won't ever give up."

"THEY AREN'T GOING TO CATCH US!" Mephisto was seething in rage. "You don't have my vision!"

Sampo pushed everyone aside to face Mephisto nose to nose. "I don't need perfect vision to see this is not going to work and I refuse to wait for something bad to happen. We're turning this ship around now!"

Sampo charged Mephisto, who dodged her grasping hands. He touched a spot on her back and Sampo crashed hard to the floor in great pain. Mephisto raged on, turning his fury on the rest of the troupe.

"So this is the thanks I get? Let us not forget the miserable lives I saved you all from. Slaving away in mines, working in stables, languishing in jail?

"I was the one, the only one, who saw in you that greater potential. I had the vision. I had the foresight. I had the promise. So, if this isn't what you want, then YOU leave now. As for me.."

The troupe spread out. Lizard Lad yelled, "Get 'im!"

They pounced, but found Mephisto was on the other side of the room, looking unruffled.

"How does he do that?" mumbled Greg, removing Tom and Harriet from his legs.

"Everything I've ever wanted, I had to fight to obtain, sometimes with my feet and sometimes with my fists, but I learned I could out-think people just as easily as out-run them."

Felicity started to throw knives at Mephisto. "Out run this!" she shrieked, but he deftly moved ahead of them. Felicity was just half a beat behind him and when she compensated, she was half a beat ahead. Soon, she had no more knives.

"I have a great nose for smelling out both the strengths and weakness in people. When I can make it all coalesce, then I have my goal of Mastery!" While Mephisto nattered on, Greg and Hammal tried to catch Mephisto in a pincher movement. As they both leapt, Mephisto disappeared at the last moment, leaving them stuck together and enmeshed.

"No one can touch me and no one comes near. It's best to get out of my way."

Lizard Lad tried to slither about his ankles, but another series of swift movements kept Mephisto ahead of him as well as on top.

"OK, it's your turn to be a doormat. Personally, I'm tired of getting trampled and pushed to the side by people with far lesser talents."

Springing off the stunned Lizard Lad, Sampo grabbed Mephisto and wrestled him to the ground. When Sampo got up, not only had he eluded her grasp, he cuffed her into arm restraints that even she could not break.

"But now, I have fate where I want it, within my grip and nothing, not one thing, not one person, will deter from obtaining my goal."

Irongut stepped into the fray, trying to blow flames at Mephisto, but he clamped down on his mouth and the flames burned Irongut. Mephisto pushed him aside as Irongut stuck his head in a bucket of water.

Tom, Dick and Harriet grouped together. "We need something better than this," opened Tom.

"He's mopping the floor with us," added Dick.

"We can attack as a force from all sides," said Harriet.

Mephisto looked into a hand-held mirror, preening with pride. The troupe tried to sneak up on him, but he reflected a shaft of sunlight, blinding them.

"Don't try to fool me with flattery or cajole me with platitudes. I'm finally reaching my peak and I'll think nothing of rolling some boulders down on you."

Tom, Dick and Harriet launched themselves at Mephisto like human cannonballs, but he swatted them away like mosquitoes.

"There's nothing that I will not do, for my ends justify my means. You'd do the same for yourself, wouldn't you? I will be master of all I survey!"

Tired of these shenanigans, the troupe ganged up on Mephisto, smothering him under a massive dog pile.

"I've got an arm!" cried out Greg.

"This is definitely a leg," added Sampo.

"Wait a minute. That's my leg!" hollered Lizard Lad.

"Who has Mephisto?" struggled Felicity, as she pushed people off of her.

"I have Mephisto!" said Mephisto. He hurled a fishing net atop them, adding to the confusion. He watched as they all enmeshed themselves until they were a writhing ball of humanity.

Mephisto pulled up a chair as sat, looking as they fought. He caught Sampo's eye. "Any more questions?" probed Mephisto.

He overlooked his troupe, who was unable to defy or overpower him, as they struggled to free themselves from the net. Mephisto left, his coat swirling about him.

"On to Boldoni!"

End Notes

This was originally Mephisto's song, his one time to shine. I remember reading the liner notes for the box set "The Music Behind the Magic", where Ashman and Menkin had a similar song for Jafar in "Aladdin", but they felt (a) it came too late in the film, (b) the song truly stopped the action and (c) we already knew most, if not all, of the points covered with the song.

One can also see the rather comic elements within this segment, as I wanted to take full advantage of what animation had to offer, especially with Mephisto escaping and eluding all of the efforts from the troupe.

One hard thing about this tale, whether film or story, is that you have to remember where everyone is at any given moment. I could not forget about Scuttle, and then have him magically appear at the end of it all. Where was he, then, playing Canasta with the rest of his feathered friends? Besides, he gave me a double opportunity: I get him back into the film and he is a means to an end to get Triton to where Ariel and Melody are currently located.

One previous idea in an original draft was that the troupe, sympathetic to Ariel's plight, were willing to tend to Melody (or Ariadne, in that draft) to allow Ariel to find Triton. Well, that idea hit the trash bin as fast as it came out. So many problems with it.

No matter how well or emotion or heartfelt I frame it, Ariel is still, in a sense, abandoning her baby. Nice idea, but not in this context. I even had it scripted out where Ariel extracts a lot of promises from the troupe. They have freed her and she is on the verge of leaving, when one of them makes a comment that Ariel doesn't particularly like and she remains, actually taking the child and going back into the cell, locking herself in.

Very dramatic, but very wrong.

In the dog pile sequence, I did flirt with the idea of someone biting a leg, thinking it's Mephisto, but it was someone else's, but felt I was pushing the corn a bit too hard. I mean, the knife framing is bad enough.

Boldoni is a font style, but it just sounds like an exotic land instead. Certainly a lot better than Cat Cay (which is an island in the Jamaican chain).


	12. Chapter 12, A Rough House

**CHAPTER 12**

"A Tough House"

Eric's ships cut through a sunset sea, reflecting oranges and reds of the dying sun. His second ship was behind and farther back, but keeping close. The conditions that had helped Mephisto's ship were aiding Eric and his cause.

In the Captain's Quarters of the first ship were Eric, Captain Prescott, and the navigator, who were pouring over a map of the region that covered the table before them.

Eric paced about, staring at the map. "Where could he go? There are hundreds of places to search."

"But he's going to want a real port. The nearest one is Boldoni." Captain Prescott pointed to a place on the map.

The navigator added. "But they could push on to Port Mahi, another half-day's sailing, depending on the weather. But there the problem lies."

"I know, I know," stewed Eric.

"From there, a hundred different ports of call are easily sailing. They could even change ships," said Prescott.

"They could do it at Boldoni, too," challenged the navigator.

"Boldoni doesn't have a fifth the traffic as Port Mahi. It could be done, yes, but not as easily. Boldoni also has a shallow harbor, so only small ships could get in."

Eric mulled for a moment, contemplating the map and the comments.

"Let's think about the man. If I were he, I'd be feeling very sure of myself, having set up a situation where any pursuit might be delayed. Perhaps enough of a delay for him to get to the nearest port. Captain."

Prescott snapped to attention.

"Signal the other ship to head to Port Mahi as fast as they can, then come back to Boldoni to meet us. We're going to Boldoni."

"No offense, sire, but this is the faster ship. If he has headed on to Port Mahi, we could lose out altogether."

"True, but the reason he has taken Ariel and Melody, I think, is an addition to his little troupe. He would want to cash in on that as soon as possible. You have your orders. We head to Boldoni!"

The city of Boldoni was a typical seaport town, filled with raucous people and the standard unpleasant mixture of cutpurses, inebriates and other dangerous types. Despite the hour, there was still a bustle. Mephisto's ship was moored.

The troupe was doing much grumbling, owing to their cargo.

Greg voiced his anxiety. "He goes to get a place for us to perform. With the princess as part of it! This is madness. We have to do something, or we're doomed."

"We have got to get her free, here in Boldoni," reasoned Sampo. "There must be someplace or someone to turn to."

Felicity came in. "All we would have to do is get her out of the ship or the building. I'm sure she could make her way to the police or.."

"Or what?" snorted Lizard Lad. "I don't think they will believe she's a princess? And with a merbaby?"

"Something's better than nothing," said Hammal.

In the corner, Irongut mused. "I think I have an idea. During my act, I could catch something on fire. In the confusion, say, Felicity and Sampo could get the Princesses out of here."

The troupe looked at each other. Somewhere in back, a snicker was heard. Irongut was irked. "This is not a terrible plan and I don't see anyone else trying."

"Now, now," soothed Tom.

"No one said I was terrible," helped Dick.

"It just seems so..so uncertain," ended Harriet.

Irongut stood up quickly. "Well, you come up with something. But it better be soon. We haven't much time."

Meanwhile, in the brig, Ariel struggled to put on the costume. It was ugly and bulky and itched on her legs. "This is very bad," she muttered. Ariel sat on her stool, looking at Melody, who was sleeping away in a wicker basket.

The lock clicked and a grinning Mephisto entered, his two burly sailors in tow. Mephisto unlocked the brig.

"It is good you've come to your senses. Things will work out for the best, you'll see," chided Mephisto.

"What stops me from calling for help?"

Without saying a word, Mephisto produced a horrible mouth gag that covered the lower half of one's face. Before Ariel could react, one sailor had the gag about her head and buckled tight.

The other grabbed her lower fins to immobilize her. Ariel struggled against the mask, but could not get it off. She was reduced to making grunting sounds.

Ariel then pushed against the sailor on her feet, shoving him against the wall. He was unprepared for this repulse and went reeling.

The sudden shift in weight pulled down the first sailor as Ariel crashed to the floor. Both sailors' heads collided as they fell back and away.

Ariel flopped to the bars as the sailors got to their feet. Seeing her against the bars, they charged her, one high, one low. Ariel hoisted herself up over them and they both missed her, their burly arms getting wedged between the bars.

Ariel looked over to see Mephisto cradling Melody, as though nothing was going on. Ariel tried to totter over, but she couldn't balance on the fin. She crashed to the floor in front of Mephisto. Quickly, Mephisto put wrist cuffs on her. Ariel sank to the floor, crestfallen.

Mephisto made chucking noises to Melody. "No one will question me." He looked over to the sailors, who succeeded in pulling their arms free from the bars. "Bring her."

The troupe looked down the gangway and saw Ariel manacled and taken from the brig, slung over the shoulder of one of the guards much like a sack of potatoes. Ariel struggled as Mephisto followed behind, Melody safely protected. The troupe retreated.

"That's the end of it," whined Greg. "We have got to do something!"

"Then let's go with Irongut's plan," concluded Felicity. "Sampo and I will try to be backstage at that point. We can do it."

Lizard Lad was more circumspect. "You'll have to. You'll know what Mephisto will do once he finds out. If we don't succeed together, we'll all swing together!"

"I can handle him!" proclaimed Sampo. She grabbed a solid chunk of wood and proceeded to crush it to pulp between her hands, leaving a pile of dust. Sampo wiped her hands.

The performance area was filled to capacity. Many people stood against the walls to see what this strange group of people had to offer. Many of the audience looked tough and surly. If the performance was not up to their standards, there would be much trouble.

Mephisto, apparently unaware of the plot against him, strode onto the stage as the applause greeted him.

"Welcome one and all to the Circus of the Great Mephisto, presenting people and acts you have never seen before, and quite possible, will never see again! Behold!"

The curtains parted to reveal Felicity. The audience recoiled in shock at her beard. Gasping could be heard throughout the crowd. Sampo came on, flexing her muscles. Then, brought in by Irongut, Hammal and Lizard Lad was Ariel, clutching Melody.

She was on a sedan chair. But the audience couldn't see the chains that bound her to prevent any escape. The audience murmured as Ariel waved her fake flukes and cradled Melody. Ariel reddened under the intense stares of the crowd. When the chair was placed down, one of the chains, attached to her wrist, clattered against the stage.

Mephisto paused, letting the audience try and take all of this in. Then, a scream came from the crowd.

"Fake!"

The crowd reacted to the claim. Mephisto was not surprised as he moved towards Ariel.

"Ah, a doubter. One who feels we deal in chicanery and bluff. One who does not trust his own eyes!"

Mephisto, standing behind Ariel, abruptly wrenched Melody from Ariel's arms and presented her to the audience. Ariel lunged, but was restrained by the chains. They rattled noisily as Mephisto showcased Melody, her fin flapping away.

"Then explain this! Her mother and she were captured off the Azores. Do not let her appearance fool you! She is gagged for your safety."

Mephisto walked the length of the stage, Melody thrust outwards so all could examine the authenticity of the claim. The house was silent, save for the squeaking of Mephisto's boots on the stage.

Ariel's eyes began to water. This was such a humiliating experience for both her and her daughter. But she knew she had to be brave.

Mephisto continued his spiel. "Once she sings her siren song, we would all be doomed! I did what brave Odysseus did and poured wax in my ears to resist her evil charms and spells.

"We have heard the tales of these creatures leading sailors to their doom upon the jagged rocks. Why should YOU be any different?" There was concerned mutterings.

The audience was sufficiently horrified and amazed. Melody was returned to Ariel, who clutched her tightly, turning away from the audience. Felicity and Sampo went off stage, but Ariel remained. Irongut crossed over and sat in a chair.

Mephisto dramatically spun back towards the now perplexed crowd.

"And she must be constantly guarded against any escape!"

While Irongut seated himself, Greg came out and proceeded to set a table for Irongut, complete with a checkered cloth, a set of dishes, utensils, a couple of glasses, a candleholder with a lit candle and a small vase with a rose in it.

Irongut remained transfixed on Ariel, proceeding to eat the light meal, and then devour the tableware. Ariel could not avoid the gaze of the audience, as they were uncertain at whom to look.

Backstage, Sampo and Felicity stood at the ready to put the plan into action. Felicity nervously fingered her lock pick, rolling it over her fingers. Sampo put a beefy arm about Felicity.

"Don't worry. We can do this."

Onstage, Irongut had devoured everything and pretended to have indigestion. He pulled out a pair of wands and sets one aflame, and then began to eat fire.

"Get ready. This is it!" said Felicity. Sampo flexed her muscles, ready to be guard.

Before Irongut could set the curtains aflame, a man leapt from the audience, wrenched Melody from Ariel's arms and then sprinted to the door. Distracted, Irongut sent a sheet of flame at him, scorching his rear. The man reacted, but still headed to the door.

Felicity came onto the stage and flung knives to cut the man's suspenders, causing his pants to fall to his ankles. As he neared the door, waddling as fast as he could, Greg came into view, hanging upside down above it.

"I'll be taking her, thank you!" snapped Greg as Melody was snatched from the shocked man's hands. Greg retreated just as the man heard a deep-throated AHEM! He turned to see Sampo's giant fist zooming in, followed by a tremendous thud.

The man went flying out the doors as if he were rocket propelled, the doors tearing off their hinges as well, following him out into the street.

Inside the hall, there was a healthy circle of distance around Sampo, as people were paralyzed with fear and indecision as what to do next. Sampo, seething with rage, roared in anger, her cries booming out into the street. The theatre cleared out, as people crashed through doors and windows, trying to escape the wrath of Sampo.

Up on stage, Greg tried to hand Melody back to Ariel, but Mephisto magically appeared and took Melody from both of them. As the last straggler crawled from the place, the local police finally came in.

The lead officer looked about at all the destruction. "All right, what's..this..?" He then saw the hulking presence of Sampo, still panting and gasping, drenched in sweat, eyes filled with fire. The officer, stunned, walked cautiously around her and went right to Mephisto, pointing at him.

"You. Out. Now."

End Notes

OK, Odysseus did not pour wax in his ears. He made his crew do that so he, along could hear the siren's song. But, since no one in the crowd is THAT literate, just the merest of references is enough to prove Mephisto's level of intelligence, so they buy into it

Where did they get the sedan chair? OK, that is not fully explained, and, quite frankly, is it really all that necessary to detail?

And how was Greg able to hang above the door to get the baby from the thief?

The reason I bring these points up is that they were brought up to me during my numerous reviews of the script. Obviously, these are the more sniggling level of complaints, not like "You are engaged in copyright infringement!"

Now I did (and do) listen to every review that I got, but I am not under any compunction to accept all revisions. And unless it was a glaring omission, a one-off is really going to be ignored. I just wanted to bring this to your attention so you would be aware that I was aware.


	13. Chapter 13, The Best Laid Plans

**CHAPTER 13**

"The Best Laid Plans"

A partially moonlit night bathed the ocean as Mephisto's ship sliced through the still waters. The calmness belied the roiling resentment that fomented beneath the decks.

The troupe was sitting around a table in the galley, commiserating, each trying to puzzle out the turn of events in Boldoni.

"What went wrong?" opined Greg. "I mean, what went wrong!?"

"Nothing. Nothing went wrong. It was just an unforeseen event," offered Hammal.

Irongut commented. "It was all so perfect! I was this close to setting it off."

"And Sampo and I were also set and ready to go," completed Felicity.

Sampo slammed her fist into the table hard. Everything jumped, including the people, at this angry outburst. The troupe began to move away from Sampo, afraid that she might lash out at them as she did the people in the theater.

"Blast the luck! Blast! Blast! Blast!" Every time she said "blast", she smacked the table, harder and harder. It jumped, as did the troupe, who was moving farther and farther away.

Tom, Dick and Harriet all chimed in at the same time. "We'll have to do better next time."

"Oh, there won't be a next time!" The voice dripped venom and sheared through everyone like a cutlass. All turned to see Mephisto, holding Melody as if it were his own daughter. He sauntered about the people, looking at them with a jaundiced eye.

"I knew of the plan to free the Princess and her child. That guy was a plant to make certain Irongut didn't set the place afire to let Felicity and Sampo rescue everyone. And all it cost me was a bottle of cheap rum!"

As Mephisto walked among them, Melody giggled in a playful manner, seemingly unaware of his stark evil. Greg blanched. How does he know so much, he pondered. Mephisto stopped at Sampo, eying her hard. Sampo felt the heat from his eyes, boring into her.

"And no one is going to grind my head into sawdust, either. It now doesn't matter what happens. We all succeed together or we all swing together. I suggest you opt for the former than the latter!" Mephisto sailed out of the room. Everyone was sufficiently revolted and stunned at the bizarre turn of events.

"We are doomed," uttered Greg.

At the brig, the outer door slammed, echoing melancholy about. Ariel sat on her stool, cradling the just-returned Melody, who cooed and made bubbles. "Oh, Melody, you have absolutely no idea of what is happening in our lives. But at least your happiness gives me hope. I still have you."

Ariel's eyes brimmed with tears as one dribbled down her cheek. How can I be brave about my plight? she thought.

"How long have I been in this place? It feels like I'll never be free. I don't know what lies before us, but I will not abandon you ever, Melody. I'll stay by your side and near your heart. We'll get out of here, I promise you that, but, for now, we're trapped upon this ship." Ariel then broke into heart-wrenching sobs.

Back at the galley table, Sampo was ranting and raving.

"I don't care what it takes, but we're getting them off this ship. And the sooner, the better for us all!"

Felicity tried to calm her down. "But how can we do this? Our last plan went wrong."

Hammal chimed in. "We need one that's foolproof."

Greg was staring out a porthole when he spoke. "I hate to say this, but there's a traitor in our midst."

Everyone stopped and stared at one another. "How can you say such a thing?" gasped Harriet.

Greg did not look at anyone and spoke in a flat tone. "Did you hear what Mephisto said? He knew too much for it to be mere happenstance. He was informed!"

Lizard Lad mulled this over. "But that means we can't make any plan, as Mephisto would know. It is over before it starts."

Felicity was working something out, lost in confusion. "Personally, I want to know how the princess and the baby were taken out in the first place! How did they get from the castle to the ship?"

"Well," said Hammal, "If I needed to scale a wall or a tower..." Hammal turned to Greg and said nothing more. Greg got it and went on the defensive.

"Oh, I see, blame it on the Fly Guy. Well, Felicity could have driven knives into the wall and Tom, Dick and Harriet could have clambered up to drop a rope down so Hammal could have captured them!"

Tom, Dick and Harriet were livid.

"Lizard Lad could have slithered through a small open window!" barked Tom.

"Irongut could have easily melted the lock in nothing flat!" snarled Dick.

"Felicity could have used her knives to threaten them into silence!" concluded Harriet.

The accusations started to fly hot and heavy as everyone challenged everyone else. Long-simmering hatreds boiled to the surface. Sampo looked about with the sourest expression ever and fully lost her temper. She picked up a chair and smashed it against the table, splinters and chair bits flying everywhere.

"Enough!" Everyone stopped and faced her. "The last thing we need is disharmony. We have to come up with a plan NOW!"

"Wrong. We can't make any plan," said Greg firmly, as he went up to Sampo. "Mephisto would know. We are doomed, plain and simple. It is going to get back to him and we will be thwarted." Everyone viewed Greg with uncertainty while Sampo fumed.

"I'm not giving up! Who's with me?" No one said a thing, reluctant to take a stand. This enraged Sampo even more.

"Fine! I'll do it myself! Tomorrow, if I have to! I'd rather go down in a good fight than live on my knees in shame!" She stormed off, with Hammal chasing her. Tom, Dick and Harriet conferred amongst themselves, speaking in low tones. Felicity stood up and straightened her dress, brushing off some errant wood chips.

"Well, I'm going to bed to think on this. A good night's sleep and all that may help me with this. Felicity left. Moments later, Irongut left, muttering to himself.

"I just don't know. But anything's better than waiting for the consequences." He thrust his hands deep into his pockets and trod out, dejectedly. Tom, Dick and Harriet quickly scampered away, leaving Greg and Lizard Lad in the room.

Greg got up to go blow out the light. "Doomed. That's all she wrote. Hopelessly doomed."

Lizard Lad looked over at Greg. "So, what are we going to do?"

"I don't know. I really don't know." Greg sighed as he looked into the flame. Then he blew it out, plunging the room into darkness. "Doomed," he whispered.

End Notes

I used to post to a variety of websites that did scripts, as I wanted to make sure I was going in the right direction. One of those sites was .

Started by the actor Kevin Spacey, it was really geared more to people doing short films, but, trying to be like Francis Ford Coppola () or Damon and Affleck (Project Greenlight), he wasn't to "give back".

I had originally posted an early draft in late 1998 and had gotten lukewarm reviews for it. With the quality reviews I had gotten from elsewhere, I decided to revamp and repost at triggerstreet.

One reviewer took such a major offense at this, he turned me in to the Hall of Justice, as he felt I was engaging in copyright infringement.

In a broad interpretation of the term, ANYTHING can be copyright infringement. What we do here at this site can be construed as such, as we are "appropriating" someone else's intellectual property.

Now, one of the criteria is assessing damages is whatever financial remuneration one has received from these ill-gotten gains. We have all seen copyright infringement.

Any time you see any Calvin and Hobbes merchandise, that is copyright infringement. Bill Watterson has never agreed to the marketing of his character, save for the book compilations. When you see a t-shirt, it's copyright infringement.

With this complaint, I had to go and defend myself. I argued three points:

1. Since no money exchanged hands, there was no real infringement, as I did not prevent Disney from making acres of money off of Ariel, nor had I received any from anyone for my efforts.

2. What if I was trying to sell this script to Disney? I would certainly want to make certain that it was a quality product before I gave it to them and this was the only venue where I could do that. No agent was really going to take the time to sit down and discuss it with me.

3. Since I had seen, in active use and one winning a Best Script of the Month Commendation, a Matrix Prequel and an idea for Die Hard 4 (Holly is taken captive by bio-terrorists and John has to run around town, planting the virus bombs), and they were still active, the application of the rules was capricious at best.

And, since I had already posted this script here and no one complained about it at the time, there was a fundamental flaw with the system.

Sadly, it all fell on deaf ears. Triggerstreet found me guilty of the charge, deleted the script and placed me in suspension. I could, however, get out of suspension, if I would give four "quality" reviews. That generated a rather sharp letter from me.

I asked if they were accusing me of not giving quality reviews when I did give them, and why were my reviewing abilities NOW being challenged?

And who would decide if I gave a quality review? The staff? What stopped the staff from deciding it wasn't a quality review and compel me to do more? They could wrest 6 reviews, 8 reviews 10 reviews out of me. They may have to, as it is implied that I give such sloppy reviews in the first place, it may take years for me to reach this goal.

I then launched into a tirade of some rather salty language and situations that they could do and then self-deleted my account.

Here's the funny thing: zoetrope had no problems with "copyright infringement", neither did and certainly not (where the script came in 4th place)

In any way, it forced me to fish or cut bait. I HAD to get this thing produced or just forget about the whole mess. It was time to stop doing this as a hobby and do it as a career.


	14. Chapter 14, GAng Aft Agley

CHAPTER 14

**CHAPTER 14**

"Gang Aft Agley"

Dawn broke over Boldoni Harbor as another day began. Most of the ships and their crew were slow in stirring. Just at the outer edge of the harbor, a ship was anchored but primed to make a quick escape.

In the middle of the harbor, a launch was being rowed furiously towards that ship. Eric stood up and waved at the ship, trying to get the attention of the crew. "Get ready to make sail! Get ready to make sail!"

The launch pulled along side and Eric clambered on board as the other sailors followed up. Eric headed to Captain Prescott as the longboat was hauled up and secured with maximum speed and efficiency.

"They were here yesterday and set sail on the midnight tide!" gasped Eric.

Captain Prescott nodded. "Their next stop is definitely Port Mahi and they're not that far ahead of us." He turned to the crew, barking out orders. "Hoist anchor and make sail!" As the ship headed out to the open sea, the captain turned to console Eric.

"We'll get Princess Ariel and Melody. Don't worry."

Eric smiled and nodded, then headed to the prow of the ship, where he stood, looking out at the vast reaches of the sea. "I'm coming, Ariel. I really am." He looked down at the figurehead on his ship, which was an image of Ariel.

On Mephisto's ship, Ariel, still trapped in the brig with Melody, was intently pondering. "Mephisto may just be too sly to outthink, so I will need another approach."

"Hsssssst."

"He may have magic skills, but he's not like Ursula."

"HSSSSST."

Ariel looked about, trying to find the source of the sound.

"HSSSSSSST!

Hearing it again, she turned about to notice a note dangling at the porthole. She cautiously moved towards it, and then took it inside, reading the contents.

"'We are getting you off the ship. Be ready.'" She tried to look out the porthole, but the angle was too flat for her to see anyone or anything upwards.

Pondering the note, she sat down to eat her morning meal, such as it was. "I cannot believe people can eat this...stuff. It's all so gray." As she lifted up the bowl, there was a folded piece paper underneath it. Now getting concerned, she opened it.

"'We are getting you off the ship. Be ready'. Huh?" She compared the notes, laying them down in front of her. "This is in a different handwriting. What's going on?" As she puzzled things out, a piece of hardtack flew through the door grill and landed onto the floor in front of her. Ariel picked it up and unfolded the paper that was wrapped about it.

"'We are getting you off the ship. Be ready.' This is completely different writing again!" She headed over to the porthole to peer about some more. As she reread the notes, she was unaware of a stealthy, menacing shadow crossing behind her. She turned about and recoiled in shock and horror. Before she could react, she was swallowed up by the blackness.

Above deck, Greg was standing by a longboat, basking in the sun and waving at the passing crew members. When they passed him by, he spoke in hushed tones and out of the side of his mouth. "We'll have to make certain they have enough water and food. It will take some time for them to get to the nearest port."

From underneath the cover, Lizard Lad poked out his nose. "We may be expecting too much to have the princess row. She could even head farther out to sea."

Greg turned about so it appeared he was looking at the horizon, but blocked Lizard Boy's face. "Sampo was right, something HAS to be done or else..." The distinctive click of rifle hammers was heard. Greg slowly turned about to see a phalanx of sailors, brandishing rifles with bayonets at them. One motioned for both of them to come along.

"I could do something," hissed Lizard Lad.

"Yes, for all of about nine seconds. Just come out slowly," said Greg gingerly. "We are so doomed."

Down in the galley, Tom, Dick and Harriet were scuttling about the lower shelves, looking for items.

"Here's some lovely grease," commented Tom.

"I don't think they'll miss this bucket," said Dick, holding it up.

"I've got a sack full of provisions for them; it should last long enough," concluded Harriet.

Suddenly, a bayonet stabbed the floor in front of Harriet. All three turned to see sailors with rifles. They began to scamper under their legs of everyone to create confusion. Sailors fell all over themselves as the trio proved too quick for them, but the exit from the galley was blocked.

"We have got to think of something fast and..." Tom was cut short when an enormous stew pot was dropped down on them, corralling them all.

A few decks lower, Felicity and Irongut were poking around the armory, Felicity trying to pick the lock. Irongut growled. "I could have chewed through that easily."

Felicity ignored him as she worked the lock. "We need to be subtle and not draw attention to ourselves, especially since we're getting some guns. People tend to get anxious about that."

Irongut looked about to see if anyone was coming, but it was all quiet. Hearing a satisfying click, Felicity smiled. "I told you I could do this!" She opened the door to a bristle of guns and bayonets thrusting outwards. As she recoiled, Irongut charged the door and tried to force it back shut, but it was a task and he strained to hold things in place.

"Run! I can keep them busy!" he yelled.

Felicity turned to escape and crashed into a wall of sailors standing behind her. She was quickly subdued.

"Get out of here and..." Irongut looked up to see the fruitlessness of the situation. Sighing, he released the door and those troops came tumbling out.

Near the brig, Hammal and Sampo were skulking through the ship, drawing attention to themselves in an attempt not to draw attention to themselves. Sampo was constantly looking about, ready to attack at the merest provocation. "Thanks for helping me. No one else would."

"Sure, sure, but isn't it a bit early to be breaking them out of the brig?" Hammal asked.

Sampo turned to face Hammal. "The more confusion, the better. It works in our behalf. Besides.." Sampo stopped and made an uncertain face. That's not a wall I feel, she thought. She turned to see Mephisto.

"Besides, it won't work anyway," he grinned.

Sailors came out of nowhere. Sampo went into a fighting stance and gave them what for, as sailors flew about, crashing into the walls and each other. She was a warrior who knew no fear. Even Mephisto marveled at her skill and prowess.

As she turned to fight more sailors, Mephisto touched the spot on her back very hard, driving his finger in. Sampo crashed to the floor in whimpering pain. Trussed up in chains she could not break, Sampo was dragged to the brig, but it took seven men to do so.

Inside the brig, it was filled with the rest of troupe. Ariel was in the corner, chained to the hull. The troupe rushed the gate, but was repelled by the sailors and their weapons. Sampo was thrown in like a sack of potatoes and the door clanged with a disturbing thud.

Greg spoke first, eying Mephisto. "How could you have found out? I didn't know about...Sampo?"

"We were unaware of Felicity," chimed Tom Dick and Harriet.

Irongut threw a thumb towards Greg. "When I saw Greg here.."

Mephisto's face clouded over. "Fools! Because I am the Great Mephisto, you cannot trick me. Besides, the first rule of performance is always have a plant. Isn't that right?" Mephisto looked at the open door as Hammal entered.

"That is so right, sir."

The troupe was in a variety of confusions. Lizard Lad rushed the gate to bash against it uselessly, reaching out to grab Hammal, who was just out of his clutches.

"You see, I saw the opportunity and knew we had to act on it. None of you have the vision and foresight to plan ahead. I'm not going to be in this position forever," smirked Hammal

Mephisto leaned in. "I'll deal with you traitors later." He then strolled over to Ariel. "As I once said, you weren't completely necessary to the plan, so you will join your compatriots at the last curtain call!" He turned to leave, then spun about. "I never liked any of you FREAKS anyway!"

As Mephisto started to laugh, a cannon report was heard, followed by the bellowing of the captain. "All hands on deck! All hands on deck! We're under attack!"

The sailors scrambled out, but Mephisto remained calm as he fairly waltzed out. The brig door was slammed with a sense of finality. Everyone was crestfallen, a couple of folks sagging to the floor. Greg looked over to Ariel.

"Some rescuers we turned out to be."

"Maybe we can get out through the porthole!" offered Tom.

Scrambling over to that side of the ship, they formed a human tower to get to the porthole. Harriet put her head out to check the situation and a shot was heard. She pulled back in too quickly and they all went tumbling.

"Harriet! Are you all right?" panicked Dick.

Harriet checked herself. "I'm OK. I guess he missed."

A voice called down outside. "That was your only warning. Next time, I won't miss."

Greg put his head in his hands. "Now what? This is the end. Doomed. Just so doomed."

Lizard Lad came over to Ariel. "You have to believe us, we wanted none of this, but we seem powerless against Mephisto." He gestured with his hands to show the results of their work, towards the rest of the occupants of the brig.

"Not completely." All turned as Felicity pulled a lock pick out of her beard. Felicity went to the cell door, where she got it open in nothing flat. Going to Sampo, her locks were easily opened. When she got to Ariel, a look of consternation crossed her face.

"These are the newer locks. I don't know if I can get it, but I'll try." Felicity worked it, but the pick broke off in the lock. Ariel and Felicity were frustrated. "It was going so well!" Felicity felt herself being picked up bodily and moved to one side by Sampo.

"The time for finesse is over." Grabbing the chain by the wall and clenching it tightly in both hands, Sampo strains. The chains hold tight, but she does not give up as her muscles ripple and wobble. Her breathing became labored and strained. Veins started to pop out all over her body

"Sampo, it's not working," said Greg. "It's OK. You did your best."

Sampo let out a primal scream, building from deep within her, culminating in a ferocious roar of defiance. One of the links slowly bent apart, snapping the chain. Ariel was free, lifted up and away by Sampo.

"Where's your baby?" asked Irongut

"Mephisto has Melody in his quarters."

Greg pulled everyone together. "This time, our plan will work." They huddled together for a moment.

A guard was passing by the brig door when Sampo crashed through it, knocking the guard out as the door was shattered.

Stepping over the prone body, they all headed to their quarters, where everyone retrieved their props: Felicity got her knives, Irongut his fire tools, Greg removed his gloves and took off his shoes. Sampo stood with Ariel in the passageway outside, noticing the chain was still dragging off her ankle.

"I could pull that off you."

Ariel was adamant. "Later. I want my Melody."

The troupe all met in the hallway, Irongut speaking. "We'll distract the sailors, you two get Melody!"

End Notes

Did it work?

Part of the problem with a mystery is can you guess who was the mole. I wanted to leave just enough clues to keep you guessing, but not too many that you saw through it before I revealed it, but not so few that you really didn't care when it finally was presented.

My problem is in all the reviews I ever received, no one ever said anything one way or the other as to how they felt about the mole, whether they puzzled it out or whatever.

And you can't go up to people and wrestle them to the ground to give you a better review. And a lot of the reviews tend to focus on what didn't work for them, which may not always be in proper perspective.

I had a friend who saw the Broadway "Mermaid" musical. If you read the early reviews, they were scathing. He saw it and said that it had problems, but it wasn't as bad as we were all lead to believe.

So, it makes it hard to do the right thing in regards to story-telling.


	15. Chapter 15, Playing With Fire

**CHAPTER 15**

"Playing with Fire"

The Captain piloted the ship as Mephisto held Melody, almost oblivious to all that was going on about them. "I'll not be joining this ship in Davy Jones' Locker," the captain muttered, trying to coax more speed from her.

Mephisto was almost blasé about things. "You won't. None of us will. Just prime your cannons and let them get closer." He walked towards the stern of the bridge to see Eric's ship gaining. "I'll give you that, you're made of sterner stuff, Prince, but it won't do you any good."

From their bridge, Eric could see the gap was narrowing. "They responded to the warning shot. They're heaving-to."

Captain Prescott was more sanguine. "But I can bet you they're getting ready for a volley against us. I know I would."

"Prime the cannons, but fire on my command only. I do not want to risk hurting Ariel or Melody." Eric put the telescope to his eye and focused on their bridge. He could see Mephisto holding up Melody with one hand and waving pleasantly, then fake dropping Melody. Mephisto gave Eric the evil eye.

"He may have us over a barrel. Fire another shot across her bow," fumed Eric

A cannon spat out another shot, which tore off the bowsprit. The captain and crew reacted. "That was too close," commented the captain as he tried to maintain trim.

"No, it wasn't," remarked Mephisto. He went to the steps of the bridge and bellowed. "FIRE!" Cannons belched out their anger. Two shots hit Eric's ship, one tearing a hole in the main sail, the other shearing off one of the spars.

Mephisto smirked with glee, and then yelled at Eric's ship. "Work on that one." A distant boom was heard and Mephisto's ship was rocked, as a sail crashed to the deck. Everyone was turned to Eric's ship.

"Where did that come from?" pondered the captain. Another shot was fired and smashed the starboard railing. Everyone turned to see Eric's other ship.

Eric saw the other ship as well and barked out orders. "Signal the other ship. Tell them not to fire. NOT to fire!"

However, the other ship's shots were more direct. Parts of the vessel caught on fire, including the powder room. Chaos was reigning. However, in an entryway, the troupe stood at the ready.

"Charge!" Greg screamed.

Leaping out, Felicity sent loose a barrage of knives, which pinned sailors to masts, hulls and the deck. Tom, Dick and Harriet rolled about, tripping up more. Lizard Lad scared sailors overboard with his sheer bulk.

Irongut shot out fire, but one flame got away from him, catching a sail on fire.

Sampo brought up the rear, slamming sailors into the water as she and Ariel made their way to the bridge. Ariel paused for a moment as she looked outwards, brightening up. "That's Eric's ship. He's come for me. Eric! ERIC!"

Ariel started to jump up and down to get Eric's attention. Sampo came back to grab Ariel as the flames leapt onto the deck. "There's time for that later," chided Sampo, as another sailor was pummeled flat.

Greg shinnied up a mast, grabbed a rope, and swung out for Mephisto and Melody on the bridge. Hands extended, Greg sailed through the smoke and zeroed in on his target. "Come to papa," he mumbled. Mephisto saw him at the last moment and ducked out of the way, crashing to the deck. Greg careened wildly and, on the return trip, knocked more sailors into the sea.

Sampo and Ariel deftly avoided the flames as sailors were now jumping off the ship on their own accord. They both looked up to see Mephisto heading into his quarters. They followed, with Ariel leading the way.

However, on the other ship, Captain Amelia was having problems as she looked through a telescope at Eric's ship. "I just can't seem to make out the signal flags. All that smoke."

The First Mate took a look through his telescope. "I can see the 'fire' flag, sir."

The captain took down her glass with enthusiasm. "He wants us to send forth another volley. Turn the ship about! We'll give them what for!"

As the second ship turned to fire, high overhead, Scuttle floated into view and circled about. Despite all the chaos below, Scuttle was impassive. Just off Eric's stern, the water bubbled frantically. Triton came up, looking most unhappy. He watched with disgust as Eric did not return fire, taking another fusillade. Triton, disgusted, shook his head 'no' and submerged.

Back at Mephisto's room, he was scrambling about, while Hammal was holding a shrieking and crying Melody, uncertain as to how he should take care of the situation. "Perhaps this wasn't a good idea after all."

Mephisto turned on Hammal. "Perhaps you should shut up!" The door suddenly burst open. They looked up in shock.

"Perhaps you should shut up." The hulking shadow of Sampo held a fragment of the shattered door in her hand, which she cast away. Ariel squeezed in beside her. Both looked particularly fierce and angry.

Thinking fast, Mephisto grabbed Melody from Hammal and shoved him towards Sampo. Her fury was unmatched as she pummeled Hammal, who smiled. "I am the Rubber Man and your punches have no effect on me." He struck her back. It had no real force, but Sampo was stunned anyway. She redoubled her efforts.

Hammal let Sampo give him a solid hit. He reeled back and bounced off the wall. Curling up, he became a ball and slammed hard into Sampo, knocking her to the floor.

Ariel went right to Mephisto, who smiled cruelly. Melody howled as they circled the desk. "So it gets down to us. I expected this to happen. You know, you never were really needed," he needled.

"Wrong! It was you who were never needed. Or wanted." Ariel's eyes burrowed in on him, as they measured up each other, the fight between Hammal and Sampo not even a distraction as those two broke up the room.

"You're stronger willed than your husband. I underestimated you. For the last time," he sneered.

Ariel crouched down. She knew she really had only one opportunity to get Mephisto. She felt the anger, the resentment, the chagrin and the fury building within her, and acted. She started to leap over the desk. Mephisto ran to his right, but it was a feint from Ariel. She spun about, leading with her chain leg.

Mephisto reacted too slowly and was caught on the ankles. He went down, Melody pitching into the air. Ariel reached out and caught Melody. Mephisto struggled to his feet, a nasty bruise on his ankle, his face twisted with madness. "Let me have it!"

"Then here! Have THIS!" Sampo tied up Hammal into a knot and pitched him at Mephisto as hard as she could. Both of them went down. Running to Ariel, she grabbed her free arm. "Let's get out of here!" and they started to flee, while Hammal and Mephisto struggled.

Triton, at the stern of Mephisto's ship, near the Captain's Quarters, fired a massive bolt from his trident. The ship burst into flame and smoke and lurched from the explosion.

Ariel, Melody and Sampo were blown onto the deck. Ariel held onto Melody as they pitched about, shielding her as best as possible. The ship was a raging ball of fire. Sampo grabbed them both and headed to the railing. "You'll have to jump!"

"But I can't swim!" she protested

Sampo stared at her for a moment. "You're a mermaid and you can't swim."

Ariel looked sad. "I'm not a mermaid anymore."

Another explosion racked the ship, the shudder throwing Sampo into the water. Ariel looked down after her, cradled Melody close. She had no choice. Sitting atop the railing, she looked down, held her breath and jumped in. They were immediately enveloped by a bright beam of light.

"Daddy!"

Triton, with his trident aloft, encased them in a ball of energy. As he carried them over to the other ship, Mephisto appeared. Sizing up the situation, he headed over to the mini-deck cannon on the bridge. He primed it to fire at Triton, who could not see him. Ariel tried to warn Triton, thumping on the shell of the ball, but he could not hear her.

Eric, through his telescope, saw the situation unfold. Grabbing a sailor's rifle, Eric sent up his shot. "Make it count." He fired.

Mephisto was wounded, as the bullet ricocheted off the cannon and into his shoulder. Grimacing from the pain, he tore off a bit of cloth and put it in his mouth, biting down on it. He staggered back to the cannon, now aiming it at Ariel. Oblivious to the flames that were licking about him, his eyes glistened from the mania that had overtaken him.

"No one shall have her. You must all die! DIE!" He lit the fuse and aimed.

Eric grimaced as he looked about for another rifle. "Give me another rifle! He's getting ready to fire!"

The first mate gave the command. "Fire? Fire! Fire, fire, fire!" exhorting the crew onward

Eric turned in horror. "Nooooooooooooooooo! That's not what I meant!"

The captain of the other ship gave her order. "Fire!"

Both ships fired simultaneously. Mephisto's vessel exploded, lifting out of the water and breaking in two as the magazine detonated as well. Huge amounts of debris were scattered about, smoke spreading outwards, enveloping all. The ship sank rapidly, gurgling in its death throes. Floating among the flotsam and jetsam could be seen Mephisto's coat and Hammal's turban.

At Eric's ship, the crew of the now sunken ship and the troupe were brought on board, wet and grimy. Eric looked out at the smoking wreckage, stunned at the turn of events.

"Eric, I.." Captain Prescott was at a loss for words.

"What have I done?" Eric stared in gaping horror as what was left of everything, pieces of sail fluttering about in the light sea breeze, shards of wood raining from the sky. Filled with a sudden fury, he turned to the people on deck, eying the troupe and crew fiercely.

"Take them below. I will deal with them. Personally!"

End Notes

So, why hasn't this gotten to Disney? That is a tale all on its own.

When I got the script into a form that I liked, I sent an exploratory email to Disney, asking how I could get this to them. I received a reply back from a Theresa Gonzalez, who informed me that Disney did not accept unsolicited scripts. In order to get it to them, I needed to work through an established agency or have done work for Disney in the past.

I contacted the WGA for a list of approved agents and did some footwork on my own. I sent out 10 letters, four to San Francisco-based agents, six to the Los Angeles basin. At no time did I ever send the script itself. I have to protect myself, right?

I got one letter back almost immediately. This agent could get the script taken care of, provided I sent down 1000 for his fees. Now, I may not be the smartest bear at the zoo, but I knew a scam when I smelled one, so that was sent packing.

I received three more letters, none from San Francisco. The first declined to accept it, as it "lacked marketability." I knew what that meant; if Disney didn't take it, it was a dead commodity. There was no place else to shop it.

The second said that I lacked a track record and I should come back when I had more experience. Look, if I get "more experience", I don't really need an agent, do I?

The third said that owing to the "limited appeal" of the idea, they would have to decline, but wished me the best in finding an agent.

It was a total and complete bust. A rather debilitating blow, but since I have low self-esteem anyway, it wasn't all that troublesome. Well, on to Plan Two, the "previous work for Disney." OK, I have not done previous work for Disney... but my friends have!

Greg Proops and Michael McShane are good friends, as we worked together in an improv group in San Francisco in the mid-80s. Greg was several voices in "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (most notably the hat-making harlequin) and I felt, since I was on friendlier terms with him, that he would come through for me.

McShane was the stronger choice, however, as he was the voices of much of the crew for "Treasure Planet", which was directed by...Musker and Clements, who did the first Mermaid film!

Letters were sent out and...and...and...I guess we weren't as good a friend as I had hoped. I even offered to send them the script to read, as I wanted them to feel comfortable and confident in stumping for me. I have to assume that they did not want to jinx the working relationship with Disney.

Undaunted, I had more plans, thanks to Sharon Hix.


	16. Chapter 16, Pay the Piper

**CHAPTER 16**

"Pay the Piper"

The troupe was taken below. Eric lurched to the side of the ship and viewed the carnage remorsefully. Then the water started to churn and boil next to the ship. All on the deck rushed to the side to see a bubble rise, phoenix-like, from the waters. Ariel and Melody were inside, safe.

Borne by Triton's trident, the glowing orb alighted on the deck and then disappeared to free them. Triton rose up on a fountain of water to deck level.

Eric ran to embrace both Ariel and Melody. "I though I had lost you both," he murmured, but then realized how awkward this was, considering all that he had done. He backed away and turned to see an unpleasant Triton.

"Your majesty, I.." But before he could continue, Ariel stepped in front of Eric, holding Melody aloft.

"Daddy, here is your grandchild, Melody." Triton stared at the merbaby with admiration and respect. She's so tiny, he thought. He looked up to see a very sad Ariel.

"Daddy, I need you to make Melody human." Upon hearing that, Eric stepped in, blocking both Ariel and Triton.

"Stop! Stop this now!" Arms extended, Eric stared down Triton while Ariel recoiled in confusion.

"I will have my say! I have experienced my first real test and...I have failed. I failed as a monarch, I failed as a husband and I failed as a father." Eric stared down at the deck as things spun about him. He felt like he was going to pass out, but he wouldn't allow that to happen.

The crew looked on as Eric raised his head and continued. "Ariel's happiness means more to me than anything else. But it is apparent she won't find it here. Feet or fins, it shouldn't have made a difference. But it did."

Eric turned to Ariel, tears welling up in his eyes. "I am unworthy of your love. It would be best if you return to Atlantica, with Melody.

"It's not fair to you or your father or to Melody to remain on land. She needs to be what she is and what you truly are...a mermaid."

Eric gingerly took Melody from a stunned Ariel and moved to one side. Ariel was confused but could not find the words to say anything. She tried to move to Eric, but was restrained by Triton. "This really is for the best," consoled Triton.

Triton raised his trident. Ariel steeled herself against the transformation she didn't want. She wanted to try and work things out. She wanted to make it like it was. She wanted one more chance. She tried to put on a brave face, but her trembling chin gave away her true feelings, eyes clenched tightly as the tears dribbled down.

The trident charged up. The faces of the crew and the people were trying to prepare for the event, but it was a situation where there really wasn't going to be a winner. The energy bolt glowed and shot from the trident, the report was heard for miles.

Ariel was aware nothing was happening to her; she felt...nothing. Opening her eyes, she saw the bolt was directed to Melody. A ball of white light, too bright to be stared at, bathed Melody. When it faded, Melody was a human.

Eric looked up, stunned. Ariel, who was relieved that she was staying with Eric, ran to them both. Triton looked at Eric.

"Ariel's happiness means more to me than anything as well.", he said.

Eric walked up to face Triton. "I will never fully appreciate the level of your sacrifice that you just made."

Triton put an arm around Eric. "I believe you have." He turned to go, then paused. "But I want a proper presentation of my granddaughter to me."

Ariel came forward, tears of joy streaming down her face. "Oh, we will. We most certainly will, daddy!" Ariel was enraptured at her daughter and that her husband was back. There was not a dry eye on the entire deck. Triton smiled to himself as he left.

Meanwhile, in the brig of Eric's ship, the troupe was there, looking pensive. Greg was pacing, talking to no one in particular. "We're doomed. No way around that. Plain and simple. End of story. Doomed. Doomed, doomed, doomed, doomed, dooooooooooomed!"

Lizard Lad was more sanguine. "You know, I'm getting to really, really hate brigs. I've seen enough in my life."

Greg scampered up to him, grasping his sleeve. "The way things are going, your life may not be much longer! Doomed, I tell you. Doo.."

The brig door was opened. Greg bolted upright and forced a smile. Eric, visibly upset, peered at them with a furious intensity.

Greg whispered to whomsoever was around. "It's really bad. We're doomed."

Eric began to pace. "The mark of a good ruler is how he dispenses justice: swift, direct, immediate!"

Greg's resolve began to crumble. "Are we ever doomed," he mouthed.

"Crimes against the Crown cannot go unpunished," continued Eric.

Greg's left eye began to twitch. "We are incredibly, totally doomed."

Eric drove a fist into his hand. "A message will be sent!"

Greg gave a big, toothy, nervous smile. "Doomed more totally beyond belief!"

"You will be escorted back to my palace, where you will all be summarily released." He turned to the guard. "Unlock the door."

The troupe was amazed as they were set free, the door opened by Eric himself.

"We're...we're not doomed?" asked a dazed and panting Greg.

Eric's tone softened considerable. "Justice means nothing if it's not tempered with reason and mercy. The Princess Ariel has interceded on your behalf, regarding your valiant efforts to free her. Once at the castle, you may go where you wish, or stay in the Kingdom."

Greg came close to Eric. "No offense, your Majesty, but we're not Kingdom folk. We prefer being on the seas, traveling from town to town."

"Which we are unable to do, as our ship is sunk," piped up Lizard Lad. The troupe was horrified at the presumptiveness of Lizard Lad and tried to clam him up. Eric made a wry smile.

"I can do something about that. Come up when you are ready" Eric left. The troupe relaxed. Sampo passed out, crashing to the deck.

Night had fallen. In the background, a celebration was going on, as members of the troupe performed their special skills. Ariel was with Melody on the bridge. They were staring off into the distance as a breeze whipped Ariel's hair about. Eric approached from the rear, putting his arm around Ariel.

"That was a very brave deed you did this afternoon," she said.

Eric stared off and away, his voice rather flat and trembling. "It..it needed to be done."

"It must have been very difficult to tell Daddy that." Ariel looked down at Melody.

"Actually, I was afraid that you wouldn't want to come back, after what I said. They were still my words, all of them. I wasn't going to force you."

Ariel turned about and stared deeply into Eric's eyes, speaking firmly, but kindly. "I am your wife, you are my husband, this is our daughter. We are a family. For better or worse; in bad times and good."

"Then, would you consider marrying ME..again?" Eric knelt before them. Ariel teared up as Melody burbled. Eric rose and kissed Ariel.

From the door, Grimsby looked out at them and sighed. Then he was aware that it got very crowded at the door as everyone came over to look at Eric and Ariel. The whole crew spilled out onto the deck and began to clap for the happy couple, who just pretended they weren't there.

End Notes

Who is Sharon Hix?

When CBS had a show called "48 Hours", she was profiled on it, as a shopaholic, who bought anything and everything, to the point where she was in massive debt.

As Leslie Stahl is pawing through a closet, she is holding two Little Mermaid dolls that I was hunting for (along with other, now collectible, items in the closet).

I knew who she was and where she lived, but no specifics. A phone book was of little help to me but, at the library, there was a program that allowed you to get almost anyone's address in the US.

It took about 40 minutes to track her down. Now, the whole program to buy the Ariel items went bust, as her addiction was too powerful and she couldn't part with anything, but it helped me with the second part of my plan.

I used this self-same program to contact John Musker and Ron Clements. I knew that if I sent ANYTHING to the studio, there would be an excellent chance they would never see it. No, I had to send to their homes for a more direct response. It took some time for them, as they do not live in Los Angeles, but the surrounding areas. I was able to also determine that Clements had a summer cabin in the Los Angeles Hills as well.

Although Clements was the better of the two to send to, I decided to blitz them both with my request. Too bad I did not know they were on the outs and their last film, "Treasure Planet", was not the big hit Disney wanted and that they were losing favor with the House of Mouse.

This explained why my letter received no reply.

I did have a plan to contact Jodi Benson (the voice of Ariel) as I had her new Georgia address, but I realized that all my efforts were for naught. Everyone was just too scared to help.

I submitted the script one last time, at Screen Writers Community, for their contest. I came in a tight fourth, whereas the shift of a few points would have spelled the difference between a real help as First Place (as I would have gotten assistance in getting it to Disney), and a mere pat on the back for fourth.

At that point, the script was retired.

Or so I thought.


	17. Chapter 17, Together Again

**CHAPTER 17**

"Together Again"

It was one week later. The wedding barge was pulling out to sea. Ariel and Eric were in their wedding finery as they gave each other a wedding kiss after they exchanged their wedding vows. The assembled multitudes cheered on long and loud. Triton, who was holding Melody, beamed. Melody saw Sebastian nearby and proceeded to squeeze the unfortunate crab. But he was slippery and squirted away.

Above, Scuttle flew about and crashed into the mast of one of the ships in the harbor. The troupe was on the deck of this ship, waving their congratulations. The sail still had the stylized eye on it, but it now also read LIVING MUSEUM OF HUMAN SUPERLATIVES. Sampo was bawling like a baby as Felicity handed her handkerchief after handkerchief, as they got terrible soaked.

At her feet, Tom, Dick and Harriet tried to shield themselves from her tears, to no avail.

"I thought the weather forecast was for sunny skies," griped Harriet.

"Yes, but we did not except a squall to come in," muttered Dick, trying to stay dry.

"A squall or a squawk?" pondered Tom.

The captain, who piloted the old ship, was at the wheel of his new ship, dressed snappily in a very sharp and exquisite uniform. Next to him was Greg, who saluted Eric and Ariel, only to have his hand stick to his head.

Irongut looked on. "I'm not helping you this time, Greg!"

On the barge, the human participants weren't faring much better. Carlotta was a teary mess, as soaking wet as Sampo. Grimsby was also teary, but he was trying not to show it, preferring to remain stoic, but failing at it.

Chef Louis wheeled in an enormous cake, perhaps 10 layers high. So proud of his creation, he was full of himself, but not very attentive, as he did not see Max.

He ran the trolley over his tail. Max bounded up and upset the trolley, but Louis managed to right the trolley and keep it from tipping. "Non! Non, non, non, non, non!" Through a massive effort, it didn't slide off, but, in doing so, he overcompensated and the cake ended up falling over onto Louis. He was both livid and embarrassed, as he was thick with frosting. A few errant gulls swooped down and started to feast on the offerings.

Eric and Ariel went over to Triton. They collected Melody, looking fabulous in her beautiful dress. Ariel teared up as she hugged her father and waved at her sisters. All of them were happy, except Arista, who crossed her arms in indignation.

"Hmmph! She gets two weddings and I haven't had any!"

Attina, who was next to Arista, continued to wave at Ariel. With her free hand, Attina dunked Arista beneath the waves.

Flounder was brought up and waggled a fin towards Ariel. Melody reached out and grabbed him, squeezing him like a stuffed toy. Everyone giggled.

Triton raised his trident on high and instead of a creating a rainbow, made fireworks instead that outshined everything and anything.

On the deck, Eric, Ariel and Melody, the happy family, watch the display of lights as Sebastian spoke to himself.

"It's so nice they're together again. But dis had best be the last of all dis excitement. Just a quiet life now."

Eric and Ariel kissed again.

THE END

End Notes

When I heard that Disney was going to release a Little Mermaid 3, I felt that my time had come back around. After all, any kind of a Google search was going to draw attention to my script.

Perhaps Disney would want to contact me about this. Perhaps the Loch Ness Monster will drop by and take me out to dinner.

Although there were a lot of hits on my script, some of the comments were less than flattering. One person thought the script was written by a 10-year-old. The follow-up comment from another was "It's a 10-year-old script, but it is written so badly, it might as well HAVE been written by a 10-year old."

Ouch.

Since John Lassiter had taken over Disney Animation, I took this as a golden opportunity to try and contact him to see if he would be interested in "Little Mermaid FOUR" (as I had to change the title again!).

Alas, my emails and letters to Pixar Studios went unanswered and when I heard that LM3 is to be the very last Direct to Home Market offering from Disney, I find myself back to where I started all those years ago.

Now, we all know never to say never, as they could change their minds once again, (as they seem to do), and there have been times when I thought it was the end of the road, but a new opportunity manifested itself, but this looks like the actual End of the Trail.

Perhaps they might consider this as a Big Screen feature, but since animated film cost hover between 40 and 50 million, who can say? I mean, they did give us "Brother Bear" and "Home on the Range" and those scripts had less on the ball than mine did. (OK, I am getting a bit ranting, but what more can I do?"

Oh, and for your reading enjoyment, I have enclosed the lyrics for the movie-closing song.

What I have done for the songs in this novelization is to try and covert the lyrics as much as I could to real dialogue, but at this point, it would not serve any purpose to do so and it could come off as rather stilted and stunted.

So, the lyrics come down intact. This was only one of two songs in the entire script that I actually had a tune in mind, something light, happy and bouncy.

(The other tune was Mephisto's "Mastery". As I said, I have never billed myself as a tunesmith, but every once in a while, standing in the shower, these tunes come, unbidden.)

Back to Eric, Ariel and Melody, the happy family, as Sebastian speaks.

SEBASTIAN

It's so nice they're together again.

As Sebastian sings, both the land people and the merfolk react and act out parts of the song.

SEBASTIAN

Together again, together again,

We'll stay by our side,

And we can outride,

Whatever they send.

With our love so strong,

We'll never go wrong,

So, things might get stressed,

But we're at our best,

Together again.

When I was but a tiny one

My folks would always say:

"Money come and money go

But friends are there to stay",

So, you had better learn,

The simple truth I sing,

Once you lose all of your friends,

You haven't got a thing.

ERIC

Together again, together again,

I paid a big cost,

And I nearly lost,

My very best friend.

ARIEL

If we understand,

It's all in our hands,

We won't go astray,

And always shall stay,

Together again.

SEBASTIAN

Now, events can get quite stormy,

And you get blown around,

But if you're strong and wise on this,

You know that hope can be found.

Just take a dash of belief,

And faith in what you can be,

Troubles will scatter like sea foam,

You'll be rid of your quandary.

Life, we know, isn't easy, mon,

Good fortune can shift like the tide,

We must be prepared for the changes,

And able to take it in stride.

You can always rise to the challenge,

As long as you are as one,

So, if you're there for each other,

Your love will not be outdone.

ALL

Together again, together again,

If you speak from your heart,

Then you'll never part,

This I recommend.

Please take the time,

To make love sublime.

You can banish strife,

And have a great life,

Together again.

We all have a choice,

Let's be of one voice,

Together again

Together again.

Eric and Ariel kiss. Hold as the ORCHESTRATION concludes.

END

Meanwhile, at the Academy Awards, I end up collecting TWO Oscars, one for "Best Screenplay – Adaptation" and one for "Best Song" (as I did write lyrics) and I watch as the film garners the Best Animated Feature Oscar.

sigh


End file.
